Brotherly Love
by Zeria
Summary: After Piper's death, Chris sinks into a depression which leads him to attempt suicide. Wyatt finds him and is determined to save not only his brother's life but his mind and spirit, but is it him who needs the saving? NOT SLASH language and violence
1. End of Pain

Yeah, this is pretty depressing stuff, and a fairly vivid image of a suicide attempt; if you even think that may bother you stop reading right now.

**Brotherly Love**

No one should ever feel so much pain. No one should lose something so important in their lives, so vital to their happiness. Happiness is the reason for living right? It is at the core of every action people make. So what was the reason for living now? She had been the light in a house full of darkness. She had been the glue to hold an unstable family together. Now, she was gone. She was dead, and it was his fault.

Christopher Perry Halliwell sat numbly on the edge of his bed. He didn't know how long he had been staring at the wall, but time didn't really seem so important anymore. Who was going to yell at him to go outside and have fun? Who was going to order him to do his homework? No one. He had no one now. No one to care if he sat inside staring at wall for the rest of his life. He felt completely and totally alone.

His eyes shifted to look at the suit, rumpled lying on the floor in the corner of his bedroom. He had worn that to the...to the funeral last month. Should have hung it up in the closet, but for some reason he couldn't care less if it sat there for all eternity just getting more wrinkled and dirty. The one person who would have made him care isn't around anymore. So...it stayed on the floor.

Chris glanced over at the clock on his night-stand. It was four-thirty. He'd been sitting in his room staring at the damn wall for two hours. Ever since he got back from school. School. What was the point? He had no reason to go. Kids went to school mostly because their parents make them. Problem was, Chris didn't have any parents anymore. Unless you count a father who only recently has been around frequently enough to have any idea what is going on with the family. Leo tries, but he can't heal his son's pain. No one can. Only something.

The teenager stood and moved out of his room for the first time since he got home. Glancing warily around the hallway he moved into the bathroom. He opened up the medicine cabinet looking for anything that might help him to forget for just a little while that he had killed his own mother. After shifting bottles over to see what was behind them, Chris found what he was looking for. His aunt Pheobe's prescription migraine reliever. He shoved the bottle into the pocket of his jeans and orbed back into his room.

Twisting off the lid, the young teen poured some pills into his hand and threw them to the back of his throat swallowing them all. He'd done this so many times since the funeral he didn't even need water anymore. He'd chew the stupid things if he had to. It didn't matter. He just didn't want to feel or remember. He just wanted the images to end.

As he began to feel light headed, Chris noticed the tie lying next to the suits. He moved mechanically over to the crumpled black silk tie and picked it up. When he'd worn it for the funeral it had felt like a noose around his neck...a noose. It wasn't long enough. He'd need another one. He looked over his shoulder to his brother's dresser. Wyatt had lots of ties. He was on some sort of speech team or something, and they needed to dress up a lot.

It didn't take long for Chris to tie together four ties even with his vision spinning. He just blinked a couple of times and everything was okay...well, vision wise everything was okay. Life wise nothing would ever be okay again. He moved to the closet slowly hoping that he didn't pass out before he finished what he had in mind. If he passed out, the others would know how weak and stupid he was...most importantly he'd never get another chance to end his pain.

Looping one end of the makeshift rope around the clothes hanging pole, he tied a knot and tugged on it making sure it wouldn't come undone. Next he took the other end and twisted it around his neck tying it off the best he could. Then he kneeled allowing the ties to cut off the oxygen flow. He was finally going to stop the pain for good.

Wyatt orbed into the room he shared with his little brother after just getting out of football practice. It had been good to get out on the field again. Out of the house where the memories were enough to drive him insane. He had never been more physical during a practice. His coach was thrilled that his peaceful tempered center had finally shown some true aggression out there. It was easy today. He just kept thinking about what had happened to his mom and his brother. Then, finding rage was easy.

He sighed taking off his shirt and throwing it on his bed. Then, he just flopped down for a second. After a month off to mourn his body just wasn't used to the stress anymore. He was beat. He just wanted to take a little nap. He was about to close his eyes and lay down when he noticed a prescription bottle lying on Chris' bed. Pills were spread all over his comforter. Had he...?

Wyatt stood up about to go find Chris when he suddenly saw the most terrifying image he had ever seen in his life. His kid brother was passed out in the closet with a makeshift noose around his neck. He looked so pale as he just kneeled there leaning to one side as the ties cut off oxygen flow.

The Twice Blessed sprinted to the closet and conjured a knife, quickly cutting down his brother. Chris collapsed into Wyatt's lap, and the older brother raised his hands over his younger brother's chest praying that it wasn't too late. His hands started to glow, the familiar golden light emanating from them. Chris coughed and gasped his eyes fluttering open after a minute.

Wyatt pulled Chris up slightly hugging him fiercely. "Thank god." Tears began forming in the older brother's eyes as he held onto his kid brother with everything he had. Chris for his part just let him.

Pulling away slightly Wyatt shook Chris. "How the hell could you do that to me? Do you have any idea how scared I was? I thought you might have been dead, Chris! Do you know what that would have done to me? Do you?" He shook him again for emphasis.

Chris' expression didn't change. He just sat there staring with the same void look he had possessed for the last month. "I'm not good enough to die."

"What?" Wyatt frowned.

"I can't die because life is my punishment. This never ending suffering is my punishment for...for killing mom."

"No. You did not kill her, Chris. She was killed by the bastard with the gun.. How could you even think this was your fault? You had nothing to do with it."

Chris jerked his arm from his brother's grasp tears were starting to stream down his face. "I was distracting her. If she hadn't been arguing with me, she would have had time to freeze the bullet. I just couldn't shut up about going to lake with my friends. All she wanted was for me to orb us home. If I would have just done it the first time she asked we wouldn't have been in that alley. But no, I just kept nagging her and nagging her. Neither of us saw him coming. By the time we did..."

"Chris, you can't do this to yourself. You had no way of knowing it would happen. None of us could even imagine it. How could we have known that some guy who had just escaped police custody would run into that alley...that'd he be so cowardly that he would shoot a woman and her son just because they might have seen him and blown his cover? How could you even think it was your fault? You got shot too; you blacked out before Dad even got there. It was lucky you were even able to call for him before you..." Wyatt shook his head not wanting to travel down that road. "If you want to play the blame game, I can say I killed her because you two were up town because I asked you to pick me up some socks. I killed our mother over a stupid thing like socks. So just shut up about it being your fault right now!"

The younger Halliwell looked at his brother for the first time. His emerald eyes glistened as the tears fell. "I can't get the image out of my head. Wyatt, there was so much blood and...and her head..."

"You saw it? I thought you said you didn't." Wyatt frowned terrified at what his kid brother had whitnessed that terrible day.

Chris shook his head. "I didn't want to have to see a shrink. I knew they would make me go see someone about it. Wyatt, I don't want to talk to some stranger about seeing my mother's head blown apart. They can't say anything that will make the image of her eyes in that moment go away."

Wyatt didn't like where this was going so he pulled his brother against him again patting his back gently. "Hey, shh...don't go there. Just try not to go there. If you keep thinking about that, you'll make yourself sick."

"I already am." Was the muffled response. Chris lifted his head slightly, his eyes begging. "Wyatt, I'm scared. I don't want to be like this. Help me, please."

The Twice Blessed all powerful witch felt more helpless than he had ever felt in his life. As his little brother looked up to him with those green eyes, begging him to help, all he could do was try to be strong for his brother's sake. "I swear, Chris, I'm going to help you no matter what. Do you hear me? You're my brother, damn it. I am not losing you too."

tbc...if people want me tell me to


	2. Family Meeting

**CHAPTER 2**

Wyatt watched his brother sleep for minute. The kid was so exhausted he hadn't moved a muscle since Wyatt had made him lie down. The older brother was sitting on the edge of his kid brother's bed just watching him breathe in and out...in and out. He had never realized how lucky he was to have Chris in his life before the...the event. When his father had orbed his brother home, and told Wyatt what had happened to him and their mom...he was numb. He hadn't thought it was possible to lose anyone. He was all powerful. Shouldn't that mean his family would always be safe? Demons attacked them all the time, and it was rare when anyone got hurt because he would vanquish them in the blink of an eye. They should be safe then, right? Then that nice little bubble he had been living in burst. His mom was killed not by a demon but a psycho human. Chris had almost died that day too. He had almost lost his best friend before really ever finding him.

The Twice Blessed didn't used to like to admit that he cared about his brother. The two of them had always been so different. Wyatt was good at school, liked speech, playing sports, and dressed as Chris described as clean cut. His brother on the other hand wore whatever he could manage to put together in the morning. Most of the time it was jeans and a long sleeved tee or sweatshirt. The only thing Chris had ever been interested in was music. He loved to play his guitar. Not for anyone but himself. Wyatt respected that. Not that he would have ever admitted to it before now. Also, Chris hated school. The kid was so smart that he found classes boring and generally used the time to develop either new spells or new tunes. The only time his brother had played sports was when Wyatt asked him to practice with him. The Twice Blessed just realized that never once had his little brother turned him down when he needed his help.

"Chris...I should I have told you." He shook his head. "I thought you knew. I mean, you're my brother of course I..." Wyatt closed his eyes frustrated that he still couldn't just say the stupid words. He felt the words. Why couldn't he say them? He shook his head and rose from the bed. He needed to talk to someone about all of this. Chris needed help, and the adults were going to have to find a way to get over their own issues and give it to him. Even if Wyatt had to bang all their heads together, they would realize that Chris was in trouble and do something about it.

Stopping at the door, Wyatt turned toward his brother one last time just to make sure he was really sleeping and wouldn't get up and do something stupid again. He sighed. "Just hang on for a little longer, Chris. I'll help you." He swallowed hard. "I love you." He grinned slightly. "There I said it. You can't hear me, but I said it. Maybe someday I'll get over my stupid male pride enough to tell you when you're actually conscious." With that he slipped out of the room to go find his father and aunts.

Chris turned over in his sleep mumbling. "I love you too, Wy."

Wyatt paused just outside his Aunt Pheobe's room. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to her exactly. His mom's death had hit her pretty hard. It was the second sister she had lost. The only person she seemed to care about any more was her daughter, Melinda. He didn't know if he should even bother her with this. He wasn't entirely sure if she could get a grip on her own issues long enough to help Chris with his. He sighed and knocked anyway.

The door opened a few minutes later. Pheobe frowned as she saw Wyatt's face. "What's wrong? Dumb question. Do you want to talk about it or..."

"It's not me, Aunt Pheobe, it's Chris." Wyatt took a deep breath. "I need all of you guys to help with this, so just promise you will meet me and the others in the conservatory in fifteen minutes. Don't tell Melinda about this. It's not something she should hear about."

"Wyatt, you're scaring me. What's wrong with Chris? What happened?"

Wyatt sighed. "I'll tell you all at the meeting. Just get ready to leave your own problems behind for awhile. He needs you guys to be strong for him. I gotta go get Aunt Paige and Dad so just...get ready and be there." He orbed leaving a highly worried Aunt in the hallway.

Paige had taken Piper's death only slightly better. She had decided to focus on her work, and on taking care of Phoebe, Leo and anyone else who needed her to listen. Problem was, Chris wasn't talking. She probably thought he was doing as well as could be expected. Probably thought he was just hiding in his room dealing with it like he dealt with everything else, just cranking up his music blocking out the world. She needed to hear that she was wrong. She needed to know that Chris needed her more than anyone else.

Wyatt orbed into the Great Hall of the magic school and saw Paige sitting at one of the long wooden tables, a pile of papers in front of her. When she heard the sound of orbing, the Head Master looked up and smiled at one of her favorite nephews. "Hey, Wyatt, what's up?" She noticed the look on his face. "Oh. Need to talk?"

"Yeah, but it isn't what you think." He moved over to stand in front of her. "Chris is in trouble. I'm working on getting everybody together for an emergency family meeting in about ten or fifteen minutes in the conservatory. Can you be there?"

Paige frowned clearly highly concerned. "Yeah, of course, but Wyatt...you're seriously freaking me out. What kind of trouble?"

"I'll tell you when I tell everyone else. Just be there, and, Aunt Paige, thanks for always being there for me...you know, when I needed to talk. You are doing a great job of being strong for everybody. I know this isn't any easier for you. I'm just hoping you can be even stronger...for Chris' sake."

"Wyatt?"

He took a deep breath and shook his head. "I got to find Dad before I start talking. I'll see you in fifteen." Blue and white lights enveloped the teenager leaving his aunt staring at the spot he had been standing in only seconds earlier. Her heart clenched at the thought of how serious Chris' problem could be that his big brother was going around gathering all the adults. She knew the kid was in pain...maybe she had underestimated how much? Still...the twenty-two year old version was always so strong. He had lived in a hell world, and still kept on fighting. Being a determined little neurotic was who Chris was. Well, who that Chris was...maybe they weren't exactly the same after all...

Wyatt glared at the whitelighter standing guard outside the entrance to the chambers of the Council of Elders. He was not in the mood to put up with the so called rules. As the tall blonde angel continued blabbing about how only full whitelighters were allowed 'up there' Wyatt rolled his eyes. "Dad!"

Leo Wyatt came running out the doors of the chamber frowning as he saw his eldest son standing in front of the guard with a look that could kill on his face. The father turned to the whitelighter. "Uh...he's my son. It's fine. Both my boys have been up here before."

"That is strictly forbidden. No one but full whitelighters are allowed."

"That rule has been broken so many times, Henry. Don't worry so much. It's fine. If anyone gives you any problems just tell them to contact me." When the young whitelighter left, Leo turned to his son smiling, happy to see the boy out and about again. "So, Buddy, what's up? It was your first practice today right? Did everything go okay?"

Wyatt rolled his eyes tired of explaining that it wasn't him in need of help. That this Halliwell son would be fine provided that his brother didn't go off and do something stupid again. "Dad...it's Chris. He's in more pain than he's letting on. A whole lot more. I can't help him on my own. That's why I've arranged a meeting of all you adults. It's gonna start as soon as we get to the manor. I'll explain everything once everybody is ready."

Leo's face fell, his blue-green eyes looking panicked. Wyatt recognized that look. His father had sported the same terrified look the day he had lost his wife and nearly his youngest son. He took a shaky breath in and shuddered slightly. "Is he...I mean...Wyatt, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Come with me and then you'll know." He didn't wait for Leo to orb out. Wyatt just left his father standing on the clouds as he orbed into the conservatory to be met by his two aunts who seemed to be a combination of afraid and concerned.

Paige rose as soon as she saw her nephew appear. "Okay, Mister, what the heck is going on? What happened? Is Chris hurt?"

Leo orbed in just as she finished her sentence. "I'd like to know that too."

Wyatt let out a breath and motioned for the two adults to take a seat. He moved to the center of the room and began pacing not entirely sure where to begin. Not sure if the adults could handle hearing the details of what he had discovered regarding his little brother. Pheobe was close to slipping over the edge; Melinda was the only thing holding her together. Paige had never really dealt with her own issues, but rather chose to take on everyone elses, and Leo? Well, their Dad tried to be around as much as he could but being in the manor reminded him of Piper so much that he couldn't breathe. Would any of them be able to actually help his brother? He had to believe they could. If not...Chris might not make it, and that would destroy Wyatt. He sighed. "This isn't going to be easy for any of you to hear but...Chris attempted suicide."

He glanced around the room as he heard Paige gasp and lean back on the sofa. Pheobe's hand was at her mouth and her eyes began to tear up. Leo looked ready to throw up. Wyatt nodded. "Yeah, well, at least you didn't have to see it."

"How could this happen? Why didn't we see any signs?" Pheobe spoke softly, more to herself than to her eldest nephew.

Paige shook her head slowly. "When did this happen, Wyatt? What exactly happened?"

"Okay, here's the whole story. I orbed into our room after practice and was about to take a little nap when I saw..." he closed his eyes pained at just the thought of his brother actually doing what he was about to describe. Pained by the truth of it. "I saw Aunt Pheobe's prescription migraine pills spilled on his bed. When I got up to look for him...he was in the closet with some ties wrapped around his neck like a noose."

Tears slipped down Pheobe's face. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't lose anyone else. Losing two sisters was hard enough, but to lose her sister's son because all of them had been too absorbed in their own pain to notice his would be the end of her. The guilt and sorrow would kill her.

Paige hugged herself trying to will away the mental image she kept getting. Picturing her sweet selfless nephew trying to hang himself was too much to take. She had loved that boy before he was even conceived and imagining that she could have ended up outliving him hurt beyond belief. Suddenly she thought of her brother-in-law. This was going to bring about one hell of a painful memory for him. She hoped he didn't lose control like when he had lost the twenty-two year old Chris from the future. This was bound to remind him of that and without Piper here, Leo might not be able to stay on the straight and narrow if he were to lose Chris again.

"Where is Chris now?" Leo asked, his voice soft as tears threatened to fall.

"In his bed." Wyatt replied softly. "He needed to sleep. Don't think he has since mom..." He couldn't say it. "Anyway, I checked and he's completely zonked. I doubt he'll be up for at least a couple hours. That's why I got everyone together now." Wyatt turned to his father, his eyes full of compassion for the poor man who had already lost so much. His Dad looked so scared. His powerful, Elder father sure didn't look very strong right now. He looked terrified. "Dad...Chris was conscious enough to see what happened...to mom."

The teenager had expected a gasp of some kind, instead he noticed his Aunt Pheobe close her eyes silent tears streaming down her face. Paige took the news worse, her breath caught in her throat and for the first time in his life Wyatt saw panic in her eyes. Surprisingly Leo became more calm. Wyatt frowned unsure on what that could possibly mean. "Dad?"

"He saw her...you're sure?"

Wyatt nodded stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Yeah. He started describing it. I felt like I was going to lose it just listening to the brief details he started on. God, he's just a kid. Why did this have to happen to him? Why did he have to see his own mother killed? Worse, that he saw her go like that." He felt tears welling up in his own eyes and wiped them harshly away.

"What are we going to do?" Paige asked glancing back and forth between Leo and her sister. She shook her head. "I know what it's like to lose a parent. It's hard enough without the visuals. He's kept it to himself for a month. It's been eating away at him for that long, you guys, and we didn't even see it."

Phoebe looked at Leo knowing how well her suggestion would go over on him. "He should be talking to someone about this. Someone outside of the family who isn't emotionally tied to him. Someone who can see if he really is making progress or just putting on another show."

Wyatt shook his head looking at his dad. "He doesn't want to see a shrink. Got really freaked out by just the idea of it. He claimed that's why he didn't tell anyone he saw what happened. Making him see a shrink isn't the way to go."

"He just doesn't understand how helpful talking things out with an impartial party can be." Pheobe countered. "He's only seen the psychologists on television and in movies. They are just people who want to help."

Paige nodded. "They helped me after my parents died."

Leo looked at the faces around him as though they were strangers. His mind was so fuzzy right now that nothing was in focus. Everything was so wrong right now. His son had tried to kill himself. Chris a boy who had always seemed so strong...so sure of himself. Chris had always been that way before. His adult self...Leo closed his eyes at the thought. He couldn't do this again. He would not lose his youngest son again! "Enough. We can decide whether or not to go the psychiatric route later. First we figure out how to help him now."

Pheobe swallowed trying to think of anything that might be useful. "Maybe we should clean out the medicine cabinet. That way he won't have access to anything."

"That's probably a good idea. Who knows how long he's been abusing the drugs." Paige replied absently.

Leo winced and shook his head. "He's not a drug user. Chris isn't like that."

"He didn't used to be like that." Wyatt countered. "Dad, Paige is right. He used those drugs to numb the pain, and I have a feeling that today wasn't the first time. It is probably safer just to get rid of all those pills."

Pheobe nodded. "Leo, we have to cover all the bases."

"For Chris' own good." Paige added.

Leo nodded finally consenting. He turned to his sister-in-laws and trying to speak without choking up told them the plan for now. "I think that I should be the one to approach him when he wakes up. Tell him that we know, that we love him, and that we're going to do everything we have to in order to help him through this. Even if it means making him do things he doesn't want to do...like go talk to someone."

Paige shook her head still dealing with some shock. "I can't believe we could have lost him."

"We aren't going to lose Chris." Wyatt said firmly to the rest of his family. "No matter what."

**tbc...**


	3. A Father's Love

Pukah: I'm glad you like it!  
Alexandra-Halliwell: numb is bad. My goal isn't to make readers numb. Think happy thoughts!  
Barbas: Hey! good to hear from u! Thought a death by demon was too easy.

Warning: F-bomb is dropped in this part. Just so you know.

CHAPTER 3

Chris tossed and turned in his sleep. The images just kept coming. He tried to fight them off, to change them into something else. It never worked. The blood kept pouring and nothing he did could stop it. Nothing he tried to do ever worked. His mom just kept falling forward as her blood splattered on his face. He always tried to reach her, but pain would rip through his chest before he could take his first step. As he sank to the ground, the young teen saw her eyes frozen open with death reflecting out of the one source of love he could always count on. His head would hit the pavement with a sick thud and everything got blurred and began to spin. It didn't matter how blurred the image was or how fast it spun, though...he still saw his mother's lifeless body lying next to his own...her head...dear god! Then he cried out for his father, choking on his fear and pain. The blackness claimed his vision and mind. Over and over the same scene would play without any variation, torturing the teenager in the one chance he had for rest.

The boy bolted up right in his bed as the sound of the gun shot rang in his mind again. Ice cold beads of sweat covered his forehead and soaked his shirt as well. His throat was so dry that when he tried to take a breath it caught causing him to gasp. Swallowing hard he tried to breathe again...it was too fast...too shallow. He was hyperventilating. He shook his head trying to shake out the images, but that didn't work either. The breathing became a little faster and more shallow. He grabbed his head squeezing it between his hands. Chris then gripped his hair and just pulled. In between his now gasps for air he murmured. "Stop it. Stop it. Go away. Just go away!"

The young Halliwell leaned over the edge of the bed and grabbed the nearest garbage pail and threw up. His body got caught in a chain of spasms causing him to be sick repeatedly. He hadn't eaten for days...yellow bile came causing him to gag and heave harder. Finally, nothing came at all. He had nothing left. Dry heaving for another five minutes the spasms slowly stopped and he moved to sit on the edge of the bed with his head down, his face covered by his hands.

Strangely enough, when he had finished emptying his stomach his breathing began to become more deep and control returned to him. The only problem was he was extremely shaky...his hand jumped when he held it out to examine it. He felt so weak...drained physically as well as emotionally now.

He glanced at the garbage and frowned. It had been Wyatt's. He sighed and waved nonchalantly causing the pail to be surrounded by blue and white lights disappearing to the underworld where some demon would come across it. He couldn't help but grin at the thought of a demon finding his present. Then he realized what he was doing and the images of his mother returned causing the grin to vanish. Chris swallowed and began to concentrate on the wall. If he could just empty his mind by staring at the wall it would pass...right. Sure it would pass.

"Chris?" Leo asked appearing in the doorway.

Looking up Chris put on his best fake smile which ended up making him look like he was going to throw up again. He decided it was best to just not look at his father so he decided rather to stare at his hands which were now resting in his lap. "What's up? Did you need something?"

Leo had seen the pain in his son's eyes, heard the fear cloaked behind the forced calm. He couldn't stop himself from moving forward to his youngest son's side. He sat next to the boy and looked at him for a minute as though he hadn't seen the young teenager for years. Sometimes he felt like he hadn't. The elders kept him so busy that Leo worried he was becoming the father the twenty-two year old Chris from the future had warned him he would become. He hated even thinking that was a possibility. "Chris, you know I love you, right?"

"Sure. Of course." Chris answered softly still not looking up. He swallowed down the pain he felt, putting on the act of a lifetime. He hazarded a glance at his father forcing the corner of his mouth to turn up just a little. He didn't want to worry his dad. He didn't want to worry anyone period. "What's going on? Everything okay?"

Leo watched his son's face as he spoke. A mask had been placed over the truth, and the father would not have recognized it if he had not seen it before. The teenager was just as good at lying as his future counterpart. No doubt there. The kid had the I'm-doing-just-fine routine down perfectly. Why didn't he want any help? Did he think he was a burden? Did he feel no one could help him? What was it that was forcing his youngest son to pretend he was fine when he had just tried to end his own life not more than three hours ago? "No. Chris everything is not okay."

Chris visibly tensed at the pained tone his father used. Swallowing he asked shakily, "Is Aunt Pheobe having another breakdown? Or...it isn't Paige is it?"

"You're aunts are fine-"

"-it isn't Wyatt is it?" Chris asked finally letting emotions break through the facade, concern for his brother shining through his eyes. The last thing he wanted was for his brother to go off the deep end because of what he had done earlier. He didn't want to hurt anybody. What he had done was stupid, he understood that now. He loved his brother. The last thing in the world he wanted to do was make Wyatt's life any more difficult. He didn't want his older brother feel any more pain, especially not because of him.

Leo closed his eyes unable to take much more of this. After regaining his strength of mind, the elder opened his eyes and gazed worriedly at the teenager who used to be his little boy. He thought back to when Chris was little and had screamed out 'dad' excitedly every time Leo orbed into the room, how his little arms would wrap around his leg or when he was a little older and taller his waist. He didn't even have to be gone very long and still the little voice would be so happy to see him. He remembered chasing away his son's fears during the night...how he had promised that no demons would ever get him because he and Piper would vanquish them...god, Piper...she would know how to fix this. She would know what to say to make their son feel better. She and Chris had always been so close.

"Dad?" Chris asked still worried Wyatt had suffered a mental collapse because of him.

"Wyatt told me what happened." Leo watched as his son took a sharp breath and immediately turned his eyes away in shame. It was true. Chris had tried to hang himself. The father felt like his insides were being ripped apart by some invisible force from within. He felt like his heart would just tighten to the point it stopped pumping. He had known Wyatt was telling the truth, but to see that truth written in Chris' eyes was too much to bear. He moved closer to his youngest son attempting to put his arm around the young teen to comfort him.

His son slid off the bed and stood with his back to the Elder just before his father could reach him. Chris turned, his eyes shifting nervously to anywhere but his dad's gaze. He crossed his arms over his chest and swallowed hard. The kid was shaking like a leaf. "I'm...I'm not going to see a shrink. I'm not."

Leo frowned unsure of how to even begin the discussion he wanted to have with his son. "Chris, just sit down. I want to talk to you."

"You can't make me talk about it. I won't."

Leo nodded pursing his lips trying to decide the best way to go about this. As he thought his eyes remained focused on his son's terrified face. His green eyes held the truth of the pain he had been dealing with alone for the past month. They held the window to a shattered spirit. After a moment the father couldn't even bear to continue looking in them. That's when he noticed how thin his son had gotten...his clothes were just hanging off him and his face looked so gaunt...how had no one seen this? It was so obvious!

Chris shifted his weight to his other foot and silently cursed himself as his breathing began to get erratic again. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on getting back a steady rhythm instead of the jerky intakes he was getting now. His concentration collapsed as he felt his father's arms wrap around him and pull him close. Shocked didn't even begin to describe how he felt. The last time Leo had hugged him had been his birthday six months ago. Then again...he wasn't sure if he had seen the man since.

"It's going to be all right, Christopher. We are all going to help you through this. We love you so much. So much." Leo began rubbing his son's back in circles with one hand. "Okay, buddy, just on. Follow my lead, okay?"

The teenager listened to his father's steady breaths and forced himself to match the intake and out take of air. His was still shaky but at least he wouldn't pass out now. Chris pulled away slightly looking into his father's face. The man looked like he had aged twenty years in one day. That said a lot considering he was already dead and couldn't age. He had done that to his own father. "I'm sorry."

Leo shook his head looking ready to cry. "No, Chris. I'm sorry. I should have been here. I should have known...I am so sorry."

"I won't ever do that again." Chris replied softly. "I promise. I know it was stupid. Wyatt was really scared. I can't do that to him again."

Leo noticed his son's reasoning as to why it was stupid, and why he wouldn't try it again. Promising not to kill yourself only because you scared your older brother was not a good enough reason. Chris needed to know that life would be okay again. He would survive this and eventually learn how to be happy again. The kid couldn't do that without a lot of help though. More than Leo or the rest of the family could offer. Pheobe was right...Chris needed to see a psychiatrist. "Chris, I..." he felt lost and his lack of words demonstrated his ability to think clearly at all.

"Dad, I'll be okay. Why don't you go back downstairs...or up there. I'm going to take a nap. Not feeling real well."

The father shook his head deciding on the direct route, ignoring his son's attempt to get rid of him. "You saw everything. Why didn't you say something? I saw her too, and I know how horrible it was. I was in a war too, Chris, and I can tell you that seeing things like that can really torture your mind. Those were strangers...she was your mother."

"Don't." Chris asked softly. He shoved his hands into his pockets and shook his head slowly. "I can't do this. I just can't."

Leo moved closer again wanting to hold the boy, make the pain go away like he had been able to when Chris was a little boy. It would not be that simple this time, though. "Chris, I saw her too. I know exactly what you saw, and it makes me ill that you had to see your mom like that. For a month you held that image in your mind and fought with it alone. No more, Son. It's time you start letting other people help you. Namely...a professional."

"I am not going to a shrink!" Chris turned his eyes full of rage. "This is exactly why I didn't tell you! What is some stranger going to be able to do for me? I saw the side of my mother's head fucking blown apart!" He closed his eyes the fight dying inside of him. Tears wet his lashes and suddenly his legs gave out with the last of his strength.

His father caught him in his arms and held him. Leo stroked the boy's hair and patted his back as the young teenager began to sob. "Shh...I know, Chris. I know."

Muffled by his father's shirt the boy's voice came through sounding so hopeless. "I saw the inside of her head...it just spattered...blood and parts of her brain hit my face...I was so close to her...but I couldn't reach her..."

"Shh...just breathe and try not to think about it. Think about anything else."

"Do you really think a shrink could help?"

Leo sighed nodding. "Pheobe thinks so, and I'm starting to believe she is right. It's worth a shot, Chris."

Chris lifted his head begging with uncharacteristically dim green eyes. His voice was low and unsure. "I don't want to see a shrink, but if you think they can get make me stop feeling this way...take the picture from my mind...I'll go. Just make the images go away."

"We'll do everything we can, Chris. Everything."

Wyatt Halliwell spotted the demon he was after and began tailing him. Sure, he could have fried the monster with just one gaze but today he was looking for more action than that. Today he needed to blow off just a little more steam than such a simple vanquish would provide. He need to cause someone pain. A demon was about to have one seriously bad day.

Coming up behind the lower-level demon, Wyatt flicked his wrists aiming for the man's shoulder. It blew apart causing the monster to scream out in pain as he turned to see what it was that had attacked him. When he saw the Twice Blessed One, he began to cower. "Please...I haven't done anything to your family. Why waste your time on someone so insignificant as me?"

"Shut up." Wyatt replied coldly. "I don't care who you are or what you haven't done. You are evil. I vanquish evil. Nothing personal." He raised his hand tossing the quivering demon into a nearby wall so hard the demon's head split causing blood to seep from the back of his skull.

In an effort to defend himself, he threw an energy ball at the blonde teenager. Wyatt rolled his eyes and deflected it right back at the demon causing him to go up in smoke. He shook his head frustrated. "Shit. Why can't they be just a little more challenging?"

"Wyatt?"

Wyatt sighed as he heard his brother call for him. Glancing down at the pile of ashes he kicked them sending them scattering into the breeze. "I wish evil could feel the kind of pain my brother is feeling right now...the kind I feel. Maybe then darkness wouldn't exist." He heard Chris call him again and orbed to their room.

Chris was sitting on the bed staring at the wall when Wyatt arrived. The older brother moved to sit next to him. "Hey, what do you need?"

"The drugs are gone."

Wyatt tensed. "Uh...yeah. The aunts threw them all out. Thought it might be easier to just get rid of the temptation." He turned to his brother ready to explain his actions when he saw Chris let out relieved breath. The Twice Blessed frowned. "So, you aren't totally pissed at me?"

"Nope."

"That's new." Wyatt replied trying to smile. Without thinking, "Mom'd be real proud of us." He wanted to kick himself as soon as the words came flying out of his mouth.

Chris turned to look at Wyatt. His green eyes appeared fogg and the younger boy looked like he was about to pass out right then and there. By the void look on his face it was clear to the older Halliwell brother that his sibling was not entirely all there and had probably not even really heard his comment. Chris' eyes went half-closed as he murmured, "I'm...afraid of going to sleep."

"Don't be scared, Chris." Wyatt replied softly. "I'll stay with you. Make sure you don't have any bad dreams, okay?"

The younger boy nodded as his eyes sinked completely shut. He toppled over, and Wyatt caught him laying him then used his telekinesis to manuever his little brother up to the top of the bed with his head settling into his fluffy pillow. The older brother sighed then grabbed the blankets from the bottom of the bed and covered Chris with them. He sighed watching his baby brother fall into slumber. Chris looked so much like their mom...

"Wyatt...I'm...I'm going to the...the shrink." Chris muttered in his sleep.

Wyatt sighed and pushed his brother's dark bangs from his forehead. "It'll be okay. They'll help you with this. I know it. Then, things can start to get back to normal...well, for the most part."

"Ummm...Wyatt?" He shifted onto his side. "You're... the best."

The older brother swallowed as tears formed in his eyes. "No...but I'll try to be from now on." He glanced out their window shaking his head. "No one is going to hurt our family ever again. I promise, Chris. I'll find a way to make everything okay."

tbc...

U VOTE!!

I have several things going on in my head so you get to pick:

A) Wyatt will turn evil all over again  
B) Wyatt decides to use magic to help and finds out more than he ever could have imagined  
C) Wyatt goes to therapy with Chris


	4. Wyatt's Vision

**Chapter 4**

Wyatt flipped through the Book of Shadows impatiently. He sighed at yet another demon

entry and slammed it shut. He let out a frustrated groan and began to pace. Pacing always helped clear his mind, let him see things in a new way. What was he missing? What could he have possibly managed to over look? Why wasn't there a spell in the book to help ease his brother's pain?

Well, he had promised his brother he would find a way to make everything all right, and there was no way in this lifetime he would break his promise to his kid brother. He would figure out something...maybe add his own entry to the book. Yeah. He was the all mighty Twice Blessed witch; he should be able to come up with a good spell that would show his brother how important his life really is, and take away all that pain.

Moving over to the small table used for mixing potions, Wyatt took a seat and grabbed a pencil from the pencil cup kept in the center. Pulling out a piece of paper from the notebook Chris had decided would be a good idea to keep up on the table as well, Wyatt started jotting down ideas frowning as he struggled to find a decent rhyme. Everyone in the family knew that of the two siblings, Chris was better with the spells and potions. Wyatt had never really had a need for them considering he was so powerful. Now he was paying for it. He made a growling sound in his throat as he came up empty in his search for ryhming words. Suddenly, as he sat flicking the end of his pencil against his notebook, an idea hit him, and he scribbled it down.

Glancing proudly at his work, he read: "In this day and in this hour, I call upon the ancient power. Grant my brother piece of mind, all his pain let me bind. Show the importance of his life, and end my brother's terrible strife."

Suddenly everything became black and white. The furniture, the walls, even the young man standing near the book of shadows was done in two tones. Wait a second... That was Chris! Wyatt scrunched up his face, mentally cussing himself out for messing up another spell. He opened his eyes slowly, afraid to look at what he may have done this time. Sure enough, it was an older version of his brother. Instead of letting Chris realize the importance of life, Wyatt was being shown some important moment in his sibling's life. Great. Just perfect. He sighed and folded his arms over his chest waiting for something to happen.

That's when he noticed the crib in the attic. He frowned. "What the...?"

The floorboards squeaked and the vision Chris looked up. "Hello?"

Of course no one answered. Wyatt felt a shiver go up his spine though. Something was very bad. He could just feel it. And why was there a crib...a toddler? With...blonde...hair? Wyatt's eyes grew wide and he took a sharp breath in. The kid in the crib was him at that age. Then why was there an older version of Chris? What the hell kind of messed up vision was he having?

The floorboards squeaked again. Chris moved to stand in front of the playpen glancing around. "Who's there?" Again no answer. The young man moves to pick up baby Wyatt. "Come on, let's get you out-"

Before he can finish the sentence Chris is tossed telekinetically across the room landing hard on the floor. A strange man appears out of nowhere his dark robe reminding Wyatt very much of his Aunt Paige's magic school robe. Why did that man creep him out, though? He rolled his eyes at his own stupidity. The guy was obviously evil. He just tossed Chris across the room!

The strange man with the piercing blue eyes frowned down at Chris. "Don't make me sacrifice you both." He then moves to snatch up the baby, but Chris gestures widely with his arm knocking the man down trying desperately to protect the baby. This only serves to make the other man angry and right before the stranger in the robe vanished Wyatt caught sight of a silver glint. "Chris, watch out he's got an athame!"

As it was only a vision, the sibling did not hear his older brother's cries. He runs for the crib, but the man reappeared stabbing Chris in the gut. Wyatt cried out running to his brother's side just as his kid brother's futureself collapsed to the floor, faintly calling out for their father.

Suddenly the image changed and Wyatt found himself standing in the kitchen. His parents looking much younger were standing face to face sad looks in their eyes. His mother looked so shook up that she appeared ready to collapse. Wyatt barely mustered enough strength to keep looking. Seeing her again hurt too much. Hearing her voice broke his heart. He missed her so much...

The black and white image of his mother shook her head tears streaming down her cheeks. "What do you mean he's gone, Leo?" Fire shone through her eyes as she stared down his father. "He went back to the future, right? That's where Chris is?"

Leo turned his head away staring into the floor. "He's...he's dead, Piper."

"No." She squeezed shut her eyes as though it would help block out the truth. When her husband tried to take her into his arms she pulled away. She was literally shaking with rage. "We trusted that man. He tried to kill Wyatt...if Chris hadn't come back...." Her hands were clenched into tight fists now, "He saved the entire freaking future of the world, and his reward is to get stabbed to death? No! No more, Leo. I can't do this again. I can't lose my son too. We have to fix this. Talk to whoever you need to, but my son deserves to enjoy the future he helped save."

"Piper-"

"-Just do it, Leo!"

Suddenly Wyatt found himself back in the attic, the color returned. The vision was over. He felt as a tear slid down his face and reached up, wiping it away numbly with the back of his hand. His brother's future was no better than his present. Chris was destined to die at a young age in order to save the world...to save him. Wyatt frowned unsure what he had to do with saving the whole world, but let it pass considering it was unimportant in the whole scheme of what he had discovered. His little brother was going to die so that he could live. That pyscho had tried to kill him when he was a baby. That was the importance of Chris' life. To save the future. It was too much.

Wyatt moved numbly over to the couch and flopped down. His mother got shot in the head...his brother was stabbed in the gut. Why the hell did everyone he love the most have to die horrific deaths? Before he knew what was happening, he was sobbing. He felt like a baby, but he couldn't stop. Life as a Halliwell was a curse. His grandma died young, his aunt Melinda, his mother, and Chris too. Plus, Chris' present was not looking so hot at the moment either. He was suicidal. Wyatt shook his head. "It's all so hopeless. We save the world only to die. Save the world to be rewarded with seeing our family members die one by one. What the hell is the point?"

"Wyatt?"

The young man glanced over to the door in time to see his Aunt Paige enter, her eyebrows were furrowed and she was frowning at him. "What spell did you cast?"

He wiped away the tears before she could see them. "Huh? What do you mean? What happened?"

Paige sighed rolling her eyes. "Chris doesn't remember who he is. I am assuming you attempted to cast a spell to remove his pain or something to that affect?" She shook her head. "You really do take after your father. He tried to heal your mom's pain once and that turned out about as well. She was freakishly perky. Scared the crap out me." She smiled as she noticed Wyatt chuckle a little at his father's past blunder. She extended her hand. "Come on. Pheobe's waiting downstairs for you, so you two can come up with a reversal."

"Sure. I'll be there in sec. I just want to check the book for something first."

"Okay. But hurry. Chris is starting to panic. He just blew up some of those speech trophies of yours." She orbed out leaving him alone in the dark attic.

Wyatt sighed. "Looks like magic can't fix this one." He shook his head as saddness clogged his heart. He couldn't get the image of Chris' blood on the attic floor out of his mind. Why did his kid brother have to be the one to pay all the time? Why couldn't their family just be happy for once? Why did each of their lives have to be filled with so much pain? Each of them destined to die so young. He hated his heritage. He hated life. And he hated himself for not being able to change his family's fate. He felt like the world wouldn't miss him; what good was he anyway? Couldn't even save his own family. He paused in his thoughts. He hadn't just thought that had he? "Looks like Chris isn't the only one that needs to see the shrink."

He wondered if there was anyone on this earth who could possibly understand what it was like to be a witch. A Halliwell. Someone destined to suffer extreme pain throughout their lives. Someone who had all the power in the world...but couldn't use it to help those most important to them. Much like his little brother, he doubted anyone could help him either.

It began to rain out as his mood got darker. He glanced outside knowing he was affecting the weather. "Crap. Just what I need. The elders are going to freak again. Say I can't controll them I shouldn't have them. Fricken useless pieces of dirt." He glanced up at the ceiling. "Where were you when I was going to get killed? Where were you when Chris died saving the future? Where the hell were you when my mother was shot? Answer me that oh wise ones!" Thunder clapped outside and Wyatt glared at the clouds. "Shut up. Just shut the hell up." The sky cleared up and the sun shone brightly. Wyatt's shoulder's sunk. "Very funny. God, I hate being me. I wish someone would just take my powers away. Just get rid of the damn things." He turned his attention to the heavens again. "If you want them, you can have them okay? I'm talking to you, Odin! You're the one who wanted me to have my powers stripped. Go for it! What the hell do I care?"

"Wyatt?" A voice asked from the doorway. His cousin Melinda frowned. "You didn't mean that did you?"

Wyatt turned sighing. Ignoring her question he forced a smile. "Hey, Melinda. Did your mom send you up here to hurry me up?"

"Yeah. Chris is driving mom nuts with all his confusion. The empath blocking potion isn't working for some reason. Now we have two highly confused, scared people downstairs." She frowned. "And don't think I'm going to drop the whole you not wanting your powers thing just because I'm a kid. I'm telling uncle Leo after you fix Chris' memory."

Wyatt sighed. "I don't care. Let's just go." He took her hand and orbed them to the livingroom where he and the others worked to undo his magic.

A woman materialized in the attic her silver eyes twinkling in joy. She was quite pleased with everything she had learned. Her blood red lips curled upward in a twisted smile. "So the two biggest threats to the future of demonic kind are slipping into an abyss. How ever shall I use that to my advantage?" She let out a short, quiet laugh. Absently twirling her forest green hair she sighed. "I hate looking human, but..." She quickly glamoured into a woman with dark blonde hair and blue eyes wearing a business suit. "The boys will need a shrink to guide them back to their rightful paths."

tbc...


	5. Death of Dr Delson

Thanks a bunch to everyone who reviewed! You guys are the best! Sorry this took so long to get up; I was sick.

**Chapter 5**

Wyatt frowned as he stared into his brother's green eyes. His own blue pair would not stray from the intense battle of wills. They would remain locked onto his brother until the kid ate the damn soup. He was not leaving until Chris finished the entire bowl. Licked it clean even. Who knew how long it had been since his sibling ate anything? Well, he was going to eat today. Even if Wyatt had to hold him down and pour the hot chicken noodle soup down his throat. Hmm...maybe Paige could orb it into his stomach?

The younger brother pushed the bowl away. "I'm not hungry."

Pushing the bowl back in front of Chris, Wyatt narrowed his eyes to look more intimidating. "I don't care." He put the silver spoon into the bowl. "Dig in."

"Maybe I forgot how." Chris replied bitterly.

Wyatt rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to apologize? It's not like I wanted you to lose your memory. Besides, it's fixed now, so get over it."

Chris turned his head away to stare out the window. He folded his arms over his chest and pretended that he didn't notice the frustrated glare his brother was giving him. Pretended that it didn't bother him to piss off the all mighty Twice Blessed. Instead of acknowledging the pitiful efforts his brother made to get him to eat something as a sign of love and concern, Chris just got angry at being treated like a child. "Go away, Wyatt."

"No." The older brother sighed. "Listen, Chris, you wanted me to help you get better. You said you didn't want to feel that way anymore. Well, you can't heal if you die of starvation. Refusing to eat is just a slower kind of suicide. I am not going to let you do that."

Turning toward his brother, Chris saw the fear in the other boy's blue eyes and realized he was doing what he had promised himself he wouldn't, which was to make Wyatt feel anymore pain than he already felt. It wasn't as if Chris was the only one who had lost a mother in this, and he needed to remember Wyatt's grief and not add to it. He picked up the spoon hesitantly, noticing the pale color of the broth and the lack of noodles or anything else for that matter. His mom used to make the best chicken noodle soup in the world...no, no, no. Don't go there! He barely heard the spoon clink back into the bowl as his ears were filled with the sound of gunfire.

Wyatt had his arm around him in an instant. "Hey, whoa...what happened just now?" He gently grabbed Chris' hands away from his ears and held them steady. His brother was shaky and even more pale than he had been just a minute earlier. The kid's breathing was shallow and way too fast. "Chris, stop it. Breathe. Slowly."

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Chris asked angrily. He attempted to pull away from his brother, but the other boy was too strong, holding fast to his arms. The younger teenager gave up his attempt and just lowered his head. "Everything reminds me of her. There's always something...then I...I remember what happened. Why do I do that? Why can't I stop?"

Leo stood nervously in the doorway watching as his eldest son held his youngest. Both boys looked the worse for wear, and the image caused such an acute pain in his heart that he felt like crying for his children. He wouldn't though. He had to be strong for them. Had to be strong enough for all of them. Clearing his throat he waited for both of his boys to look up and then he smiled softly. "Chris...I made an appointment for later today with Dr. Delson. She was one of my charges a while back. Since she is a witch you can feel free to say whatever you need to."

Chris shook his head. "I don't think I'm ready for this."

"I'm going too." Wyatt replied hoping to ease his brother's concern. "You won't be alone. In fact, Dad made my appointment first, so I could go through it and then tell you what to expect."

The younger Halliwell frowned confused. "Why? You aren't insane."

"You are not insane, Christopher." Leo replied firmly. The last thing he wanted was for his son to think an appointment to see a psychiatrist meant he was going crazy. It was normal to talk to a professional after something so traumatic. "You are just very sad and upset. No one thinks you are losing your mind. I don't want to hear you talk like that again."

Wyatt smiled at his brother. "I just have some issues I need to iron out, and since this Dr. Delson is a witch I can be honest and maybe heal too."

"I'm scared I'll never heal." Chris admitted to his family. He shook his head. "What if she can't help? What if I always have the image in my head? I can't deal with it anymore. I can't." He lowered his head, his dark bangs falling over his eyes. "I'm scared that if she can't help...I'm going to go back to that place in my mind where I need to numb the pain so badly that I abuse the drugs in the medicine cabinet...the place where the pain is so bad I'd rather be dead."

Leo began to move forward to comfort his son, but Wyatt held up a hand as though to signal he had this one under control. The father stayed still for the moment and watched as his oldest son moved to sit next to his youngest. The Twice Blessed put his arm around his brother and spoke so softly...so calmly that for a moment Leo was reminded of the comforting voice of his wife. Wyatt had apparently inherited her quiet strength, which was so reassuring to those in pain. "Chris, I know you are scared. I am too. I miss mom so much that sometimes I can't breathe. I'm scared the pain will never go away. More so than that, I'm terrified I'm going to lose you too." He watched as his brother's head came up and a semi-suprised look flashed in his eyes. Wyatt took a deep breath. "We're brothers and that bond is one that I never want broken by anything."

"I don't either, Wy. It's just...too hard."

"But you know what? We are both going to be all right."

"I don't see how." Chris replied numbly.

Wyatt smiled softly meeting his brother's green eyes not with fierce determination, but this time with a strong sympathy and understanding. "We're going to be all right because we'll help each other. I've got your back, and I know you've got mine. Chris, together there isn't anything that can keep us down."

"Mom would've like that speech." Chris replied softly, smiling just slightly.

000

Dr. Jackie Delson glanced over at the clock and sighed softly. Her former whitelighter, Leo Wyatt, would be bringing his sons for their appointments shortly. Poor Leo. She had heard about Piper Halliwell's death on the news a little over a month ago. It was so tragic. A woman with so much to live for being taken from the world so tragically. Piper Halliwell had been a beacon of good magic, saving so many people in her lifetime. Jackie would repay her by helping her sons deal with their loss. What a terrible loss it was too.

She turned in her chair and stood up wanting to stretch her legs a little before the Halliwells arrived. Nothing prepared her for what was about to happen though. In an instant a female demon shimmered into the room behind her and before Jackie could do anything the demon had her head in her hands and twisted with all her strength, snapping the woman's neck like a twig. The good doctor fell to the floor in a heap. The demon rolled her eyes and waved her hand sending the body to some far away land where no one would find it. Then, remembering ever single detail of the woman's face and body, the demon glamoured into the doctor, smiling wickedly.

000

Leo paused outside the door to his old charge's office. He felt strange about not going in with his boys, but Wyatt had insisted that it would be best if he just dropped them off, and let them do this all on their own. The father didn't like it, but lately, Wyatt seemed to know what helped Chris stay the most calm. It hurt feeling like his oldest son was a better father to his youngest than he was. At least Chris had someone he trusted completely. He turned to the very pale fourteen year old and smiled encouragingly. "If you need me at all, just call."

"Uh huh." Chris replied staring off into the air. His son's mind was in some other place. Leo just hoped it wasn't in an alley. Hoped it wasn't replaying that day again.

Without thinking or caring whether he embarrased his son or not, the father hugged Chris. "Everything is going to be all right. I promise." It felt good to be able to hold the teenager without the boy getting angry. Leo wondered if perhaps Chris was just too broken to care anymore. He shook the thought from his mind. Pulling away he took a breath and smiled down at his boy. "Chris, I love you. You know that right?"

Chris turned to his dad and nodded. "Yeah." His eyes were a little more clear, but his voice was thick with pain.

"Wyatt?" Leo turned to his eldest. "I love you too."

The eldest rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Dad. We both know you love us. Now, you can go. We'll be fine. I promise. I won't let the big bad shrink scare Chris."

Leo smiled and nodded. "Okay, I get it. I'm going." He took one last look at his youngest and the image of the broken youth tore his heart to shreads. Hopefully, Jackie would be able to help him learn how to heal. He orbed out, back to the manor.

"Well, you must be Wyatt and Chris." The demon said as she came out of the office looking and sounding just like Jackie Delson. She forced a smile to her face. "How wonderful to finally meet you. I wish it had been under better circumstances." She turned to Wyatt. "You're up first. Ready?"

Wyatt turned to Chris. "You going to be okay out here by yourself?"

"Sure." Chris replied staring at a wall.

"Chris, are you positive? You can come in with me if you want."

"Wy, I'll be fine. I brought some homework." Chris replied as he took off the backpack he had slung over his shoulder. "It'll keep my mind occupied until you're done."

Wyatt frowned. Chris never did homework. Ever. The kid was some sort of genius, and never felt the need to do any of the assigned work. His brother must have been desperate for something to do to keep his mind off of what happened. Hopefully the work would do the trick. "Okay, but if you need me, just shout. Promise?"

Chris sighed tired of everyone treating him like he was four instead of fourteen. "Yeah, Wyatt. Now, would you leave me alone already? I promise I will not have a breakdown. If I do I will yell at the top of my lungs and bang on the door, and generally cause such a riot that everyone in San Francisco will know that I am a suicidal crazy who can't last a half an hour without his big brother watching over him."

"Sounds like a plan." Wyatt replied just to get on his brother's nerves. He turned to the demon pretending to be Dr. Delson. "I think I'm ready."

The woman smiled. "Excellent."

tbc... sorry, i know it was a bit of a filler chap. i'll try to get the next one up faster. the more reviews the more inspired i'll be to get it up hint, hint


	6. Loss of Power

Alexandra-Halliwell: u cried? sorry. Chris'll be okay. Eventually...  
zythe: the shrink is the big bad  
ilovedrew88: not help from her for sure. hehe...and yeah, Wyatt is cool.  
sparkling cherries: poor chris indeed. I love my Wyatt.  
Pukah: that was the best review ever! I was laughing so hard I started to cry! I should do a humorous like that and credit you. Now...where are my cookies?

**Chapter 6**

The demon portraying Dr. Delson gestured for Wyatt to take a seat on the small brown couch sitting opposite her desk. When he hesitated she forced herself to smile encouragingly and gesture again. This time, Wyatt sighed and plopped down on the sofa. The boy seemed to trust her to be the pyschiatrist. Her mind began to reel with the possibilities. The all mighty Twice Blessed was going to be puddy in her hands by the time she was through with him.

"Well, Wyatt, I'm going to have you lean back...get comfy." She nearly laughed out loud as he did what she asked. The kid was way too trusting for his own good. It would be perfect for her plans. "Close your eyes." He did. The demon grinned wickedly. His mind would be so easy to crack. Her powers were perfect for this sort of arrangement. Hypnosis was her forte. Using her power, she would be able to manipulate him into giving her his powers. Best part...he wouldn't remember a thing.

When she spoke next her voice was soft and low, hypnotizing. "You're deep in sleep. You can hear only my voice, and you will respond to it. Now, your powers...they are a burden to you aren't they?"

"Yes."

"You long to be rid of them?"

A slight hesitation. "Yes..."

"Would you be willing to read a spell to get rid of them? Right now?"

A longer pause. "Maybe..." He frowned in his sleep. "My brother...I protect him though. Chris isn't as powerful as I am."

The demon rolled her eyes. "Did your powers do any good protecting him from your mother's killer?"

Wyatt winced. His voice was so soft. "No." He started to squirm on the sofa. The teenager was beginning to realize subconsciously that something was wrong. His instincts were good, and they were starting to take over. He groaned trying to escape her hold on him.

The woman lifted her hand and uttered a few words in latin. Wyatt settled down. She smiled. "Now, Wyatt, I'm going to hand you a piece of paper with a spell on it, and a potion. You will open your eyes, read the spell, then drink the potion. Understand?"

"Yes."

She handed him the spell and vial.

Wyatt's blue eyes opened slowly, but it was plain to see that he wasn't entirely there. He looked like a zombie. His head lowered to look at the paper in his hands. Without waiting a moment, he began to recite the words on the paper. When he was finished he uncorked the vial and threw back the light green contents. As soon as he had finished consuming the potion a golden light surrounded him and moved up away from him toward the demon. The light filled her and she grinned wickedly as his powers became hers. Phase one of her plan was complete. She was now twice blessed.

"Wyatt, relax now. You are free of all responsibilities. You are happy. You are calm. Everything is going to be perfect. You will remember only the feelings of utter joy. On three you will re-emerge. One, two...three." She smiled as the teenager opened his now lucid eyes. "How do you feel?"

Wyatt smiled. "I feel...good...happy even."

"Well, I think our time is up, so why don't you send Christopher in."

Wyatt nodded still smiling widely. "Yeah...thanks. I think this helped." He jumped up from the couch and exited the room.

The demon grinned. "The main threat may be taken care of, but the younger one is still a threat. Not for long though. Then...when he is gone...I will have supreme power. No one will even come close to matching me."

O0

Chris sighed as he erased his algebra equation for the third time. He couldn't concentrate. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He could concentrate, just not on anything he wanted to be concentrating on. When he was little, he used to have problems with math. For some reason it had just been a completely alien concept, which his teachers feared he would never grasp. His mom hadn't given up on him though. She had sat with him every night for the entire year working with him. Never once did she lose patience with him when for three hours he wouldn't get a single problem right. His mom had always had faith in him in everything he did.

The picture of his mother's eyes as she began to fall to the ground flashed before him. He shook his head trying to get it to go away. It didn't work. He kept seeing her head break open...her eyes full of shock and fear. Chris got up, his legs barely supporting his weight. He moved along the wall to the bathroom. Forcing open the door, it crashed against the wall. He didn't notice. He moved to a stall and fell to his knees. The young teen retched repeatedly. His body hurt from the painful spasms. Finally, he didn't have enough energy to even dry heave.

Chris sat back and rested his head on his knees as he cried. He cried at the loss of his mother, the loss of his faith, and the loss of his strength. He knew in that moment that nothing could save him. Seeing a shrink wouldn't help anything. How could a stranger know what he had lost? How could anyone understand the pain? His mother had been more than a parent to him. She had been his friend and ally. She was the one person who had always been there for him. Now she was gone. No one would be able to change that. He wanted to die. The pain was unbearable.

The young witch heard Wyatt calling for him. He lifted his head from his knees and orbed out before Wyatt could find him. He orbed straight into his room, and moved to sit on his bed. He felt like curling up in a ball and just staying that way forever. Instead he moved to the sock drawer. No one had thought to look in the sock drawer. He didn't think they would.

Chris lifted out a pear of long gray socks and shook out a small bottle. He had bought sleeping pills the last time he had gone to the store. No one knew he had them. When he had found out the medicine cabinet had been cleaned out, he hadn't worried because he had his own stock of drugs. He had a few of Phoebe's migraine pills tucked away in a pair of white gold-toes, and some other pills he had gotten from a kid at school in a box hidden underneath his boxers. He'd be able to last quite a bit on his supply.

Shaking out about five pills he swallowed them dry and then shoved them back in the sock, which he tossed back into the drawer. He wasn't going to attempt suicide this time. Chris was too worried Wyatt would come looking for him and ruin it. He just wanted the pain to end for a little while. Ultimate peace would have to wait until he could find some way to make sure no one found him. To make sure no one could stop him.

The teenager moved to lay on the bed and just closed his eyes. If he had been thinking clearly he would have felt guilty for leaving Wyatt to face the shrink alone. As it was, he couldn't think of anything but the throbbing of his heart in his chest and the extreme nausea that made him want to up-chuck his internal organs. Just before he fell asleep, Chris whispered into the air. "I'm sorry, Wy. Maybe she can help you, but no one can help me."

000

Wyatt glanced around the waiting room and groaned as he saw his brother's books spread out across the floor, his sibling no where to be seen. He closed his eyes and reached out to his whitelighter side. The connection to his brother was so strong...there. He found him! At home...the little twirp had orbed home. Wyatt rolled his eyes. He knew this wouldn't work. He knew that Chris would never go through with it. He should have made his brother come with him. He sighed and orbed out to get his little brother.

When he rematerialized in the room, he saw Chris curled up on his bed fast asleep. He didn't have the heart to wake him up and drag him back to the shrink. Rest was a healing thing too wasn't it? He sighed and lifted his hand to use his telekinesis to lift a blanket and cover it over his brother. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing. "What the hell...?"

000

The demon Dr. Delson threw the chair across the room as she realized the youngest son wasn't coming. How was she going to take over the world if that little brat was still alive and a possible threat? Chris Halliwell may not be as powerful as his brother, but he still packed enough power to cause a hich in her grand plan. She had wanted to push him further over the edge, but he was gone! Gone! Now what the hell was she going to do?

She smiled as a nearby lamp blew up. Ah. The power coursing through her was so wonderful! If she could just find a way to kill Chris no one would be able to stand against her. No one!

tbc...


	7. A Mother's Love

Alexandra-Halliwell: He'll be okay.  He says thanks for the cookies.   
Thedifferentone: thank you   
ilovedrew88: Wyatt can't protect him. Sad, huh?   
Pukah: Ah..you are the only one that caught that!  Awesome job!  She's not your average demon for sure.   
sparkling cherries: Chris is resourceful if nothing else, and yes, demons are bad people.   
matteic: yeah...

CHAPTER 7

Wyatt stared at his hands as though they weren't part of his body. His blue eyes were wide in shock. His wiccan powers were gone. One moment they were there working just fine, the next...nothing. He plopped down on the edge of his bed and stared into the air. Odin had finally done it. The elder had stripped his powers. That had to be it. He had yelled at the elder to do it earlier and now...now, he was practically human. The only powers he had were healing and orbing. What would his dad say? What would the aunts, Melinda and Chris think? Did he care? He had thought his powers were a burden, and now, they were gone. Wyatt felt almost relieved. Almost. Something still bothered him about all this. He was used to protecting his family. He couldn't do that now. That worried him more than anything else. Still...the relief of not having so many damn powers was great.

Chris stirred in his sleep in his bed. He moaned dug his face deeper into his pillow. The kid need this rest. It was probably the most sleep he had gotten in quite some time. Sure, he had bailed on his appointment with Dr. Delson, but he could go back some other time. Next time, Wyatt wouldn't leave him alone for a minute. He would bring the kid in for the appointment and sit with him the whole time. No way was he skipping again.

The older brother moved to sit next to his sibling and watched him sleep for a minute. Chris meant more to him than he had ever realized. Before the event, his brother had been an annoying little brat who ruined his dates, stole his clothes and was always bothering him for rides to school. Now? Now, he knew how much he loved his kid brother. Even if he did want to wring his neck occasionally.

Wyatt sighed as his stomach growled. He needed food. He hadn't eaten much for lunch. He'd been too busy trying to get Chris to eat to really think of having anything himself. The kitchen was calling, so he brushed the dark brown bangs out of his brother's eyes and then rose from the bed. He would have orbed to the kitchen but wondered if the light from the orbs would wake up his brother. Besides, walking wasn't so bad.

As the door creaked closed behind the eldest Halliwell son, the demon still looking like Delson shimmered into the room and created an energy ball. One shot and the only being that stood in her way would be dead. She threw it at the sleeping witch smiling in delight...until a silver light enveloped Chris and the energy ball disappeared. She nearly screamed in frustration. As it was the young teenager had felt something wrong in his sleep and his light green eyes popped open to find who he recognized as his shrink standing in his room. "Dr. Delson?"

Unsure of what it was that had stopped her last assault, the demon shimmered out, hoping that the teenager was still too groggy to know whether she had really been there or not. She would have to find out what the youngest son's powers were before she tried again. Or maybe...maybe she could call the father as the good Dr. Delson, and inform him that his son had missed his appointment. He would probably make a new one and enforce the boy's attendance. Then, the plan she had originally counted on using would still work. Yes...that was it. That was what she would do.

Back at the manor Chris stared at where the demon had been frowning. He could have sworn he had seen the shrink standing there. She was wearing that same gray pinstriped suit that she had on earlier. She looked angry though. God, he was losing his mind. He smiled wryly. Sometimes he felt he really had already. He was abusing drugs, planning suicide, and freaked out every other minute with panic attacks and memories of his mother's death. Why was he surprised he was seeing things now? It was the next logical step as far as he was concerned. Actually, he had taken quite a few of those sleeping pills, and was probably just half asleep. Yeah, that was it. Still, why had he woken up with this fear in the pit of his stomach? He shook his head. "Chris, you are losing it. Not only do you imagine seeing the shrink, but you think she's going to kill you or something. That's great."

_Always trust your instincts, Christopher. You've always had good instincts. _

Chris frowned as he heard his mother's voice in his head. Had she ever said that to him? Was he just remembering that? Why was he remembering that now? The voice had sounded so near...so fresh. "Great. Now, I'm hearing my dead mother's voice in my head. That's perfect." He shook his head. "And dad said I wasn't crazy...shows how much he knows."

He yawned, the sleeping pills still having a hold on him. Chris turned to look at his pillow. "That sounds nice for once." He flopped back down and was asleep in seconds.

000

Wyatt watched from his spot at the table as his father spoke on the telephone. The man's face was so solomn. Whoever he was talking to seemed to be important. The issue must have been important too. Maybe it was one of the bill collectors again? Hadn't Aunt Pheobe given his dad that loan? Wyatt frowned. How was his dad going to ever pay that back? As far as he knew his father didn't get paid for being an elder. Then again, after the event, his dad had told the elders he would be working from earth for the most part. He'd go up there for meetings and important things, but nothing else. Wyatt supposed it didn't matter. His aunt wouldn't care. She had more than enough money with her talk show being such a big success and that new book reaching the top of the best sellers.

Melinda poked her cousin in the arm. "Pass the chips."

"Here." He absently tossed the bag of potato chips at her. He was too focused on his father to notice her roll her eyes at him.

"I didn't tell him you know. I thought about it, but I didn't tell."

Wyatt turned to look at her and sighed. "Thanks, Mel." He returned to watching his dad's face grow more serious then the elder nodded. Wyatt frowned. "Who the hell is he talking to?"

"Don't swear, Wy." Melinda replied before shoving a handful of chips in her mouth.

Leo hung up the phone and turned to face the kitchen table. His eyes settled on his son. "Wyatt why didn't you tell me Chris skipped his appointment? How could you let him do that? You said you would watch him. That's the only reason I agreed to leave you two alone. I trusted you would keep your word."

"Dad, calm down. I was in my appointment. He was doing math homework. Next thing I know he's gone, and I find him home, in bed fast asleep. I would have woken him up and drug him back, but we both know how rare it is for him to sleep. He has only tried to sleep in the last couple days, and I didn't have the heart to wake him up."

Melinda frowned. "You went in to talk to a shrink too?"

The elder turned to his niece. "Mel, could you go help aunt Paige make the explosion potions? She could use some help, and I need to talk to Wyatt alone."

The little girl smiled and nodded before bounding out of the kitchen.

"Wyatt, I made another appointment for Chris tomorrow. I can't go with. I have to supervise a meeting between the fairies and the knomes. They've been quarreling again. For some reason they specifically asked that I go, so I really can't get anyone else to take my place. I am trusting that you will not let him leave this time?"

Wyatt nodded. "Dad, I promise that I've got Chris' back. He needs to go, and I will see to it that he does. No worries."

000

As Chris slept upstairs a light breeze blew the curtains on his window and the boy smiled in his sleep. Piper Halliwell's spirit stroked his hair with her hand wishing that she could become corporeal so that he could feel her touch. Her little boy had to deal with so much. She wanted to help him. Wanted to hold him and tell him it was okay. The elders had forbidden it. This was the ultimate test for her sons. They would learn of their destiny through this test...learn that they were to take the place of the Charmed Ones as the protectors of good magic. That their brotherly love was strong enough to overcome anything.  Still, a mother can lend a hand every now and then...

tbc...


	8. Eavesdropping

Sorry this took so long, ffn wouldn't let me login for a couple weeks.

CHAPTER 8

Chris woke up feeling peaceful for the first time since his mother had died. He had a warmth in his chest that reminded him of his mother's light touch on his forehead when he was ill, or her smile and hug when he was upset. For the first time in a long time, the young teenager smiled. It was good to be able to remember her without it leading to that dark alley. It was wonderful to have the feeling of her being with him again. She had been his strength and calm since the day he was born, and at this moment, Chris felt as though her spirit were with him, helping him. He felt as though he weren't alone for once.

As he opened his eyes, the young witch smiled and took a deep breath of air. He felt good. Not perfect but definetely better than he had felt in a long time. He was even hungry. Wyatt would be pleased to hear that. Chris knew his older brother was concerned that he hadn't been eating. Hell, the older witch had practically forced him to try to down that god awful soup earlier. Chris wondered if Wyatt would want to have a late supper with him. If his brother did want to eat with him, Chris was sure he could whip something up for the both of them. He had spent years helping his mom in the kitchen after school and during the weekends. Out of everyone in the house, he probably knew the most about cooking. The thought of cooking for his family actually made the young man fairly happy.

Orbing downstairs, Chris could hear voices from inside the kitchen. It was his dad and Wyatt. They were fighting about something by the sounds of it. The young witch moved closer to the doorway, hiding around the corner, listening to every word spoken between the two.

"Wyatt, why didn't you tell me about her?"

"It's not a big deal, Dad. It's just a girl. We had a date. I forgot. End of story."

There was a pause before Leo's voice broke the silence. "I don't want you to stop having a social life, Wyatt. Now, tell me the truth. Why did you skip the date with this...Emily was that her name? Don't tell me you forgot. She was very pretty and very nice. You don't forget a date with a girl like that. Not when you are sixteen and hormonal. I remember being your age, and there is no way I would have forgotten. Tell me the truth. You broke it off on purpose. Why?"

"I'm needed here." Wyatt's voice was soft and his little brother was surprised to see, when he peered around the corner, that his strong older brother's shoulders were slumped and his head was down.

Their father sighed and moved to put a hand on the older boy's shoulder. "Wyatt, I'm the father. Not you. I know you love Chris, and I'm so proud of you for taking charge and getting help for him, but you alerted me and your aunts about the problem and now we'll take care of it. You are just a teenager. You have a life you need to live. Healing for you isn't over yet, either. Call the girl back. Tell her your plans changed and you can make it. Go have fun, Wyatt. Relax and try not to think about responsibilities for once."

Wyatt lifted his head, shaking it. His eyes were full of unshed tears. "How can I go have fun and relax? He needs me. I'm his brother, and I promised mom that I'd look out for him. Ever since we were kids she asked me to keep an eye on Chris, and I would always promise her I would have his back no matter what. Just because she's gone, I am not going to break my promise. Besides, I owe Chris everything. He saved my life and it costs him his."

Chris frowned completely confused. He had no idea what his brother was talking about. When had he ever saved Wyatt? Never. They had worked together vanquishing demons, but most of the time, Wyatt was the one saving him from getting killed not the other way around. What the hell was his sibling talking about? Besides, he wasn't dead. He felt like dirt, but he certainly wasn't dead yet. Why wasn't their Dad talking?

He peered around the corner again just enough to see Leo's face. Their father looked like he had seen a ghost. He was so pale...were his hands shaking? Chris frowned as he saw his father's bright blue eyes brim with tears. What was going on here? What did those two know that he didn't?

"Wyatt, what...? I don't...I don't know what.... what you're talking about." Leo stammered obviously still shocked and almost...almost afraid. What could make his father afraid? He was rarely afraid. When he was, it was always because he was worried about a charge, or him or Wyatt. What was going on in there?

"Cut the crap, Dad. I saw it. I had a vision of him getting stabbed by some psycho in the attic. Chris dies saving baby me. Don't deny it. My baby brother dies saving me. Chris' death is my fault! Now, I want to know who the hell that guy was. I want to know why he was after me, and I want to know why you and mom never told Chris that he was a hero. That he saved my life!"

Chris was lost. Normally he was quick on the uptake, but he had just woken up, and what his family was discussing seemed like something out of movie. How could he have saved his brother when he was a baby? He would have been a baby himself. Plus, Wyatt had a forcefield. Why would his older brother need his infant brother to help him? And if Chris had died, why wasn't he still dead? He wasn't dead. No way was he dead. He felt too crappy to be dead. So,what the heck was Wyatt rambling on about? Had his brother completely lost it? Why wasn't their father denying all of it? Why was Leo stammering and acting as though what Wyatt was saying made perfect sense? What was with those two?

"Ok, Wyatt. Yes. You're right. Chris came back from the future to save you, and he died. Can you really blame me or your mom for not wanting to talk about it?" Leo was crying now, and Wyatt wasn't looking as tough as he had sounded a minute ago. "He died in my arms, Wyatt. The man responsible was my mentor...my friend. He thought you were too powerful and were a threat. Chris got in his way, so he stabbed him with an enchanted athame. I couldn't heal him."

Christopher Perry Halliwell had never been so confused in all his life. He couldn't understand for the life of him how any of that could be true. He wasn't a hero. He had never saved Wy. Future? Did that mean distant future? Future as far as when Wyatt was a baby or even the future as far as the present? Was he destined to die? Was that what they were saying? Or had this already happened and then they found a way to bring him back from the dead? Mentor? There was someone who was actually older than Leo!?

The young teenager suddenly wasn't hungry anymore as all this information had taken a toll on him. He couldn't stand to hear anymore about his untimely demise whether it had already happened or would happen eventually. He still didn't understand and at this point, didn't want to. He was so tired. He just wanted to go back up to his room and have that warm feeling back. Wanted to be comforted by his mother's presence real or imagined. So, without waiting for his father or brother to notice him, he orbed upstairs.

00

"Chris?" Wyatt asked when he saw a trail of orbs out of the corner of his eyes. He closed his eyes knowing without a doubt that the younger brother had been easvedropping and probably knew every last detail about his own death. Knew everything without understanding anything. It was a dangerous combination in normal people, but with his brother it was ten times worse. Chris was sometimes not the most level headed person.

Leo frowned at his oldest son. "What? He was here? Listening to that? But he doesn't understand..."

"Yeah, I know. Come on, Dad, time for Chris to learn the truth."

tbc...


	9. Notes and the vision

Hey all! Thanks for all the great reviews! You keep me typing! Decided to make this one extra long since I don't know when I'll have the chance to update again. Enjoy!

WARNING: I think 2 f-bombs are in this one.

CHAPTER 9

Paige Matthews orbed into her room at the manor completely unaware that someone was waiting for her. She didn't normally have anyone waiting for her. Not like Leo had the boys and Pheobe had Melinda. She had Kyle, but that relationship...well, it was interesting to say the least. That man had more issues than she could count. She loved him though. Feared for him more. He refused to admit he needed her to help him through those issues. However, someone was there in her room, who admitted needing her more than he had ever needed anyone before. She just didn't know he was there. So, when she turned around to take a seat on her bed she screamed and accidently orbed out and back in when she saw her youngest nephew seated crossed-legged on her bed. When she reappeared she noted with a little pleasure that the boy was grinning at her reaction. "Yeah, ok, ok, I'm jumpy big deal. At least I don't sneak into other people's bedrooms when they aren't around."

"Sorry, Aunt Paige." He replied, his light green eyes showing a sign of life they hadn't had since 'the event'.

Something had changed in the boy, but Paige wasn't sure what it was or what caused it. She was glad for the change though. A sign of life was a good sign as opposed to the way the boy had been looking lately. Plus, he was smiling and she had missed that an awful lot. She loved Wyatt, really she did, but Chris would always have a special place in her heart. Perhaps it was because of the older version she had met who would bicker with her like a little brother. She didn't know what it was for certain. She just held him closer to her heart, and wished more than anything that he would be okay...that he would find his survivor's instincts again.

Paige sighed and moved to sit next to the young teenager on the bed. "So, what's up?"

"I need to know something."

"That you can't ask your dad or Wyatt about...?"

Chris flashed her his trademark grin. "Yeah." He then looked down at his hands, which were currently residing in his lap. He took a deep breath to prepare himself for this conversation. He wasn't sure if it were possible to prepare himself for this. If what he had figured out so far was true...he was destined to die. That just really sucked no matter how much preparation he made. "Aunt Paige, you've known me a really long time, right?"

"Since the day you were born." Paige answered automatically. It was a lie. She had technically known him a year before he was born. That would just confuse the kid though. Besides, Leo would kill her if his son found out.

"Uh huh." Chris sighed and shook his head. "See... I think you're lying. I think everyone has been lying to me." He looked up at his favorite aunt, his pale green eyes soft, searching her face for the truth. "I think you know what I'm talking about." He hoped she did because he actually had no idea what he was talking about. He was just pretending to know the whole truth in order to get the whole truth.

The young teenager didn't have to wait long to get a response from his aunt. Tears immediately began to spring to her eyes as she recalled the other, older Chris and his horrible fate. She swallowed hard and shook her head. "How did you find out about him?"

Him? That was weird. Why had she put it like that? It made it sound as if there was a Christopher Halliwell clone running around the manor. They were the same person...right? Forcing himself not to frown in confusion, the male witch decided to go with a touch of the truth in his response. "I overhead Dad and Wyatt talking in the kitchen about...uh...him."

Paige nodded and smiled. "I wanted to tell you so many times. Your parents, Leo especially, didn't think it would have been a good idea. I mean to know about all that stuff that never is really going to happen anyway. Still, I wanted you to know about the heroic deed you'd done. The sacrifice you made. I never got a chance to tell him, and maybe I don't tell you enough, but I am so proud of you Chris. Your mom was too. You know that right?"

"Yeah...I guess so." He couldn't stop the frown from forming this time around. "But, why do you keep talking about us like we're different people? Aren't we the same person?"

"I don't know." Paige shrugged slightly. "You have the same spirit, and some of your traits are the same, the impatience, the sarcasm, the love of magic, neurotic tendencies and your fierce loyalty to family, but there are other things that are very different about the two of you. Well, for obvious reasons..."

"Aunt Paige, am I destined to die like he did?"

Paige frowned, shaking her head. "No. No way. It was too damn hard losing you the first time to have to watch it happen again."

Chris' face paled even more, which his poor family would have thought to be impossible at this point. His eyes grew wide just before he closed them and lowered his head. "I'm making you and Pheobe and Dad relive that aren't I? I'm sorry, Aunt Paige. I didn't know before about how he was killed, and how he died in Dad's arms...I can't imagine how Dad must have felt when Wy told him about what I'd done...er, tried to do. God, I feel like such a jerk!"

"Chris, you are in a lot of pain. More than a person your age should have to deal with. You slipped off a narrow edge, but you're coming back. I can see it in your eyes. I'm not sure what did it, but I'm glad. I was so worried about you."

"Aunt Paige, this is going to sound lame, but what was he like? I mean how did it all go down?"

The youngest Charmed One smiled and began to relate the tale of the brave man who had traveled to the past to save his younger brother from turning evil, a part which Chris pretended to already know about, but was in reality shocked to hear, and how the said couragous man pretended not to know his own family, how his secrets were spoiled by his Aunt Pheobe's vision, how he had hated Leo, then how he had died protecting baby Wyatt. She, however, left out the part about Bianca. The last thing she wanted was her sweet nephew to go looking for that demonatrix who had betrayed him, thinking that they might be soul-mates or something. When she finished she rose from the bed. "Piper thought this day might come, so she kept a few things. Want to see?"

"Yeah...sure." Chris replied still in shock about the whole thing.

"Box of Chris' old stuff." When her nephew gave her a quizzical look she shrugged and merely handed him the now materialized old box labeled with his name and the year 2003-2004. It was only a little larger than a shoe box, but held some of Piper's most cherished possessions. Paige let out a little breath. "Go ahead open it. I don't even think I remember everything she put in there. I'm kind of curious now."

Chris carefully lifted the lid off the dusty box and coughed as some particles flew up into his face. He was shocked at how filthy his mom had let it become. She had always been such a neat freak. The thought flew from his mind as something of greater importance arrived. On top of the pile of artifacts from another life lay a picture of a man who looked way too much like him to deny that it was indeed him. Well, the man was taller and more built than him...the hair was a little longer, which he really liked, but the face was still shockingly similar. The picture also showed Wyatt as a baby. It appeared that the older version of himself was playing with his older baby brother. "I'm not suprised she held on to this. She always wanted me and Wy to get along."

"Hey, take a look at this." Paige reached in the box and pulled out a piece of paper. "I've never seen this before." The yellowing page was folded into a square, which Paige quickly worked to unfold in order to see its contents. It was a short note.

_Mom,_

_On November 4th don't leave the house. Keep Wyatt or Dad close by just in case. Please. I can't lose you again. I love you._

_Chris_

Chris stared at the note in his aunt's hand for a long time. His other self had warned her. Had told her fairly bluntly that she would die on November 4th. Why the hell hadn't she listened to him? The young teenager shook his head. "Why, Mom? Why would you do that? Why would you leave your family behind when you didn't have to?"

"I think I found her reply." Paige handed him a second note on equally yellowing paper.

_Dearest Chris,_

_I miss you so much. More and more everyday I think. The only consolation I have is baby you. I call him peanut sometimes. It makes your Aunt Paige laugh everytime because she knows you would have hated it. He and Wyatt are the only things keeping me sane right now._ _Leo has already jumped off the deep end. I'm scared for him. I'm scared for you too. I don't want to lose you again. I wonder if I have a choice._

_You told me when I died in your life. I kept the note, but don't expect me to use it. If it is meant to happen, then it will. I've gone up against the Angel of Death too many times to believe that it can be any other way. I'm okay with that. I guess it's because I know that this time around, you'll be surrounded by people that love you...including your brother._

_If my peanut is reading this sometime in the future, know that you two need to lean on one another. Be the other's support when times get dark. Together I know my boys can handle anything life throws at them. Just Remember, Chris, he may have all the powers, but you have great instincts, a level-head, and a good heart._ _He needs you as much as you need him. I'm your mother, I know these things. Baby you is crying, I have to go. Know that I love you always,_

_Mom_

Before Paige could ask to see the note, Chris had stuffed it in his pocket and wiped away a stray tear that he had accidently let fall. He hated to cry. He hated it more than anything else in the world, but he missed his mother so much, and her words were just what he had needed to hear, or read rather, at that moment. The young teen noticed his Aunt giving him a sympathetic look and decided she had seen his embarrassing slip. Time to change the subject. "Hey, so I kind of have a lot to think about, so I'm gonna go and maybe lay down for a bit, kay?"

His Aunt nodded and smiled. "Sure, Kiddo." Right before he orbed out she grabbed his arm as she remembered something. "Oh, Chris, Pheobe had wanted to talk to you, but you were sleeping and she had to go to work. Maybe you could go chat with her later? Just so that she doesn't start to think I'm the favorite Aunt...even though I _am_ the coolest."

"Sure, Aunt Paige." Chris replied, rolling his eyes before he orbed out to his room.

Chris rematerialized in his room a moment later. He felt tired. Other than that he wasn't sure how he felt. He had learned so much in such a short amount of time. Firstly, he had saved his brother's life in another reality. Wyatt, the perfect one, had actually been an evil tyrant in said life. Most shocking, though, was that his mom had known the date of her own death, and hadn't done a thing to prevent it. He almost hated her for it. She left him and Wyatt and his father and the Aunts for no good reason. Why would she do that?

One of the pictures on the wall exploded.

The teenager groaned as he saw it was a picture of him and Wyatt from last year. It was one of their favorites. It had been all Hallow's Eve, and both he and his brother had decided to go in drag. Wyatt was one ugly woman. The muscular youth had been wearing a short blonde wig and a bright blue dress with little white flowers. He had refused to shave his legs so the hair was sticking out of the nylons. He opted for tennis shoes, fearing he would fall over. As much as the younger brother hated to admit it, Chris hadn't looked that bad. It was probably because he was so much smaller than his athletic brother. He had worn a long black hippy wig, an emerald green dress that went to the ankles and chose to try to walk in heels he had found cheap in a thrift store. In any case, they had made a pretty funny duo that night. Well, the sisters thought they did, their father didn't like it at all. He was weird about stuff like that. Chris figured it was because he was so old.

Moving to pick up the picture he noticed that it had been torn in several pieces. His own head was missing all together and a chunk of Wyatt's leg was gone. "Oh, crap. Stupid magic emotion connection."

As his fingers touched a corner of the picture, Chris was thrown into a future projection. It wasn't like a premonition. Instead of seeing a tiny bit of a future event, his astral form would jump into a premonition. He was actually there, in the future, and people, including demons, could see him, though thankfully it was just his astral form taking the hits, if any occurred. He had talked to Leo about it the last time it had happened, and apparently it was a mixture of an elder ability and an advanced form of his telekinesis. It was like his Aunt Prue's astral projection, but with the foresight of an elder. Either way he wasn't fond of this particular 'gift'. It still wasn't fun to get hit by an energy ball whether or not it actually was felt.

Glancing around at the action Chris saw that he was in the psychiatrist's office, currently in the corner of the room. No one had noticed his presence yet. At the moment the woman was throwing a fireball at his futureself, who telekinetically tossed it back at her. The demon shimmered out causing the energy ball to sear the wall she had been standing in front of only moments earlier.

Wyatt entered the room, probably having heard the commotion, just as the shrink rematerialized. The demon gestured with her arm throwing Chris' futureself into a wall, then turned to Wyatt. She shot electricity from her fingertips toward the shocked older brother, but he orbed out and back in next to his sibling, who was only just rousing from hitting the wall. The demon took advantage of his turned back and flicked her wrists...

Chris' astral form saw his futureself cry out for Wyatt to put his shield up, _anything_, but Wyatt didn't. He took the hit and died instantly. The astral Chris sunk to his knees in shock and grief. He barely noticed as the demon grinned and flicked her wrists at his futureself ending his life as well. However, his ears perked up when the demon spoke.

"That was easy. Took only two visits." She gave a short laugh. "Stupid kids. How could they defeat me? It is impossible when I have the Twice Blessed's powers on my side!" She broke into full blown maniacal laughter. Until she saw Chris' astral form. "What? I just killed you! Why don't you Halliwells ever stay dead?" She threw a fireball at him, but it passed through him. It did cause him to get yanked back into his body in the past though.

When he opened his eyes, Chris found himself lying on the floor between his and his brother's beds. The piece of the picture was still in his hand. Ignoring the headache that always seemed to follow his jumps into the future, Chris shot up to his feet and yelled as loudly as he could. "WYATT!!!"

Not a second later, the older boy appeared in a swirl of orb lights with a can of coke in one hand and a half eaten sandwich in the other. "Shit, Chris, you scared the hell out me, I thought you were hurt. Is this about what you heard me and Dad talking about?"

Without uttering a word, Chris shoved his brother as hard as he could, which caused the older boy to go flying over the edge of his own bed. His soda went flying, hitting their door and splattering coke every where. The sandwich fell apart over Wyatt's bed, the bread landing mayo side down on his comforter. Wyatt was immediately pissed, and rose with all intention of whipping his kid brother's ass, but when he saw the younger witch's face something made him pause. "Chris?"

"You fucking, Idiot!" Chris was shaking, whether from anger or fear, no one could say.

Wyatt was completely lost. "What is wrong with you? What the hell did _I_ do?"

"You lost your powers today, didn't you?"

The older brother remained silent.

"Didn't you!?"

"Yeah, so the elders stripped them, big deal. I'll probably get them back eventually." Wyatt frowned. "Why are you freaking out about it? And I swear if you ever push me again I'll kick your scrawny ass."

Chris paused shaking his head. "You are so fucking dumb! The elders didn't take your powers. A demon did! The shrink to be specific!"

Wyatt frowned and folded his arms over his chest. "Chris, that isn't funny. I know you heard me and Dad talking downstairs and maybe you heard that he made another appointment, and you're freaking about it cause you're scared, but making up a story like that isn't cool."

"I'm not lying! I saw it! In one of those messed up astral vision things. Wyatt, you have to get your powers back. Now."

The older brother rolled his eyes and set his jaw. "No. The elders took them, and to be honest, I don't care. I don't want them. I never really did. It's nice not to be Twice Blessed for once. I feel a freedom I haven't felt in a long time. Ever, maybe."

"I'm sorry, Wyatt, but if you don't take them back, she is going to kill us! I'm going to have to watch you die, and I can't go through that. Not when it doesn't have to happen. We'll do a spell. Yeah, I think there is one in the book that would work..."

"No!" Wyatt took a step forward and grabbed his kid brother by the shoulders. "I said to drop it. I don't want them." He shook his brother as he spoke next. He didn't even know he was doing it. "The Elders have my powers. Not a demon. Not the shrink. The shrink is a nice lady who just wants to help. She was dad's old charge, Chris! Not a demon!"

"Wyatt, you're hurting me."

The older brother paused and noticed his grip had tightened way too much. He backed off and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Chris. I didn't mean to. Just...stop with the whole the shrink is a demon thing, okay? It worries me that you would lie to me about something so dumb."

"It's not a lie! She was even in my room today! Tried to attack me!"

"Chris, for the last time, she was dad's charge. A witch. Now, knock it the hell off before I really get pissed. And don't go bothering dad with this load of crap." Without another word, Wyatt orbed out of the room.

Chris stared intensly at the spot his brother had been standing in only moments earlier. He was so scared and so angry. He didn't know which emotion was stronger of the two. One other emotion won out over both those, though. Determination. "Fine. I guess I just have to do this on my own, then. I saved your sorry ass in one life, and I can do it again in this one."

tbc...hope you liked it!


	10. Gain of Power

Thanks for the reviews everybody! Because you all are so wonderful, I managed to crank out another chappie before finals! Hope ya like it!

CHAPTER 10

Throwing the last ingedient into the large pot, Chris Halliwell watched in satisfaction as the mixture made a small explosion and smoke began to billow up from the pot forming a giant mushroom shape. The teen swatted the smoke then turned off the burner. He grabbed a pot holder from the drawer on his left and used it to move the boiling hot pot to a cool burner so that the potion could settle.

Chris moved to the refridgerator and yanked open the door. Peering in he noticed a couple pieces of left over pepperoni pizza wrapped in seran wrap. He telekinetically moved them from the fridge to the table, then did the same with the milk as he moved to the cupboard to get a glass. When he turned around he saw his cousin standing in the doorway with her arms folded. The older witch frowned at her. "What are you looking at, Squirt?"

"You're up. And eating. That's good. My question is why are you making a potion at eleven thirty at night?"

"What are you even doing up this late, Mel? Does Aunt Pheobe know?"

The young girl rolled her eyes and gestured to indicate that she was in her nightgown. "I was in bed, but you woke me up. I think since, you got me out of bed, you should tell me what you're up to. I deserve to know since you are gonna make me super sleepy in school tomorrow."

"Shame that sometimes we don't get what we deserve." Chris flopped down into a chair at the small table. "Night, Mel."

"I'll call for Uncle Leo."

Chris took a bite out of one of the slices of pizza as he telekinetically poured himself a cup of milk. After an inadequate amount of chewing by most standards, the young teenager leaned back in his chair and lifted his eyebrows. "Try it."

"Unc-" The girl's voice disappeared in the air. She began to glare at her cousin, knowing that he had something to do with her missing voice.

Chris just smirked, then took another bite followed by a swig of milk. He knew she wasn't going to leave until she at least found out how he had stopped her call, so he figured he might as well let her in on his latest trick. "I used my telekinesis to alter the wavelengths of your voice. Unless my dad has turned into a dog, he isn't going to hear you."

"That's not possible."

"It is. Just takes a lot of practice. I use my telekinesis to do variations of my mom's old power of explosion too. Moving atoms at higher speeds. Atoms, wavelengths...learned all about them in science and decided to give a shot at altering them using my unbelievably powerful mental abilities. Didn't I tell you telekinesis was way better than your freezing power?"

She instantly began to pout. "You aren't gonna tell me what you are up to, not even a hint?"

"It has to do with Wyatt. Now go to bed."

"Are you going to turn him into a dog again?"

"Maybe."

"Chriiiis..."

"Go. To. Bed." He raised an eyebrow in a manner that was almost identical to the way his mother used to do. "Don't make me orb you to your room."

"Have I told you lately you are so my favorite cousin."

Chris smiled. "You are good. Not good enough though." He waved his arm and Melinda was instantly surrounded by white and bright blue orb lights which lifted up and through the ceiling carrying the young girl into her bed, and if Chris was as good as he thought he was, right on her bed. He didn't hear a crash, so he assumed that he had hit his mark.

As soon as he had regained his privacy, the teenager shoved his mouth full of more pizza and continued to develop his plan to thwart the demon shrink. He already had a lot of theories on how he could defeat her even though she had all of his brother's powers. Well, not all, she hadn't gotten his whitelighter powers. Whitelighter powers couldn't be stolen. She couldn't heal herself at least. That would make a fight a little more fair. He could at least hurt her. Though, his plan really didn't have to do with fighting so much as distracting long enough to cast a spell. It was the distracting part that he was still unsure of. It was risky. Really risky. He could wind up getting himself killed.

Get himself killed. Hmm...that would have been fine with him only five hours ago. It wasn't now, though. He had something to live for. Wyatt needed him. The thought blew his mind, but it was true. Their mom had said so, and besides, he had died to save his brother in another life, and was holding his sibling's life in his hands again in this one. He had a purpose in life...to watch Wyatt's back. He smiled as he took another drink of milk. "I'm important. Who would have thought...?"

Chris didn't blame himself for his mom's death anymore. He had tried to warn her, but she let fate take her where it would, and the Angel of Death ended up claiming her. She was okay with it. She had known...he was still angry at her. Angry that she hadn't fought harder, angry that she had let him suffer alone. Worst of all, he was angry that for the rest of his life he would have a final memory of his mother containing her head being blown apart in a dark alley. That image would haunt him for the rest of his life. He had no doubts about it. At least he didn't have a complete breakdown when the image popped in his mind now. He couldn't afford to.

During his conversation with his Aunt Paige, Chris had learned something very important about himself. He was a fighter. He had a strength that he had never known he had before. The other Chris had been an amazingly strong man both in character and will. They were the same person, his spirit was the same spirit that had once fought for his life on a daily basis, who had given up everything in order to save the world and his family. That strength was in him. All he had to do was summon it. Chris nodded to himself and took another bite of pizza. He knew what he had to do tomorrow morning. He was afraid, but it wouldn't stop him. He would vanquish that demon shrink if it was the last thing he ever did.

000

It was six o'clock in the morning. Chris was already up and ready to go, something no one in the family would have believed possible. Normally the youngest male was the last to get up in the morning, and only finally rose when telekinetically pulled off his mattress by Wyatt. Today was different, though. He had risen of his own accord at such an early time because he had a mission to complete. Sleep somehow didn't seem to matter to him when he had such an important agenda for the day.

Checking the small brown cloth bag he was carrying to make sure he had stocked up on all the right potions, Chris mentally counted off each type of potion to make sure he had brought everything he might need. Once he was sure all his potions were in order, he mentally went over the spell he had gotten from the Book of Shadows to make sure he had it down perfectly. He couldn't afford to mess up the most important part of his plan. Without it, his brother would be killed and he would **not **let that happen.

Taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart, the young Halliwell witch prepared to face off against a being who had more power than any of them had ever gone up against before. Scratch that...he had gone up against Wyatt before, kind of. Okay, so it had been a different life, but he had still gone up against those powers before. He could do it again. Would do it again.

Chris gripped his bag of tricks tightly in one hand, keeping his other hand ready to fling anything that might move when he rematerialized. One last big breath, then he orbed out in a swirl of blue and white light. Upon reforming in the shrink's office he was suprised to see the woman already there so early in the morning. She wasn't alone either. The demon shrink was talking to two lower levels, ordering them around about something Chris really wasn't interested in.

One of the demon hunchmen noticed his presence and formed an energy ball, but the young teenager was faster on the draw and whipped out a vanquishing potion his Aunt Paige had made a couple weeks ago that dang near vanquished any lower level demon. As the vial hit the ugly gray monster it went up in flames. He then tossed another identical potion at the other lower level and it went the way of his friend. Noticing the demon shrink ready to send some sort of attack at him, Chris orbed out for a moment then reappeared in a different spot. Before she could turn to send a bolt of electricty at him, the young witch hurled the potion he had just made the night before at her. She froze in place. He knew it was only temporary, so he began to recite quickly. "Powers of the witches rise, course unseen across the skies. Come to me who calls you near. Come to me and settle here."

A golden light formed around the she-demon then slowly rose up and out of her...and into Chris. It was then that the imposter psychiatrist unfroze and hurled an energy ball at Chris. He had been too dazed by the sudden rush of power to orb out. Good thing he didn't need to anymore...a familiar blue shield wrapped around him and the energy ball crashed harmlessly into it. "Sweet."

"What the...no! My powers!"

"Shut up, they are not." Without intending to, Chris accidentally set the woman up in flames. His eyes grew wide in shock. "Okay...that was kind of cool. No potions needed anymore..."

Suddenly everything began to spin. The room became a giant merry-go-round, and Chris felt like he was going to be sick. What the heck was going on? Why did his head hurt so much? Who did all those voices belong to? Oh, gods he was so...angry? Sad? Happy? What the hell? The boy threw his hands to his ears as if that could block the voices and emotoins he was reading from people in the vecinity. It didn't help.

"_I hate you, you bastard! I want you to die!"_

"_What a whore. I'm glad I cheated on the little wench."_

"_I don't want to live anymore. Please, God, make the pain stop."_

"_I can't believe I'm getting married! This is the best day of my life!"_

Chris shook his head, his eyes closed tightly. "Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! Oh, god." It was too much. Too many voices...too many emotions...within moments the young man crumpled to the ground. The last word he uttered before darkness claimed his mind granting him some semblance of peace was 'Wyatt'.

tbc...


	11. Brothers divided

Thanks a billion to those of you who have been reviewing. I love you all ;) Keep them comin'! We're getting to the end...sad. Well, here ya go, hope you enjoy!

CHAPTER 11

When Christopher Halliwell awoke, opening his light green eyes he found himself not in the shrink's office, but rather in his room, on his bed, with a fleece throw covering him. He recognized the blanket to be the one his mother had made him when he was six and had come down with walking pneumonia. She had wanted her kids to develop strong immune systems, so she had fought her husband on the issue of healing the boys when they were ill. As usual Piper Halliwell had won the fight against her husband.

Wanting to make her son feel better during his illness she asked him him if there was something she could do for him besides making him chicken noodle soup. He had replied that he was cold and that the blanket he had itched. So, she made him the fleece one which featured characters from a very old cartoon show that had made its fifth comeback when he was in kindegarten. He smirked at the sight of the Ninja Turtles flying with weapons drawn on the red fleece. He'd loved that show. It was pretty dang cool, especially considering how old it was.

He moaned as his head began to pound as though some tiny little being had crawled inside his head and was currently trying to work his way back out again by using a sledgehammer to repeatedly attempt to crack open the teenager's skull. He quickly reshut his eyes as the light made his headache worse.

"_Damn it. What the hell did he do? What happened to him? If he is all right...I'm going to kill him. It is _not_ cool to orb into an office to find your kid brother unconscious on the floor with blood pouring out his nose. God, it was everywhere... What the hell was he thinking? Why the hell were there scorch marks on the floor? Ugh, did he vanquish the shrink? Was she really a demon? Damn it. Wake up you little shit. You're scaring me. Oh, no, he moaned...god, he doesn't look good. Why couldn't I heal him...? Come on, Chris, please wake up now. Please, don't do this to me..."_

"Wyatt, why are you talking to yourself?" Chris asked groggily.

"_What the hell is he talking about?" _"What the hell are you talking about?"

Chris frowned reopening his eyes to stare in confusion at his sibling. This wasn't normal. What was going on? Was he hearing Wyatt's thoughts? How was that possible? He didn't have telepathy. Oh...wait. The teenager lifted a hand to his face and groaned. He had his brother's powers. He had temporarily forgotten. His spell had gone a little wonky. Chris had intended for the powers to return to Wyatt, but instead they had gone into him. Now, he had the Twice Blessed's powers. He noticed his brother's highly confused look and sighed. "Nevermind."

"_Maybe he hit his head. During the fight maybe? Shit. I mean, there were scorch marks on the floor. Humans don't make scorch marks; demons do. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! Why didn't I trust him? He wouldn't lie to me about something like that. Damn it. Now he's hurt and it's my damn fault." _"I'm really sorry, Chris."

"It wasn't your fault, Wyatt. I mean, you didn't know what to think. I told you dad's old friend was a demon. I get it. Plus, I haven't been acting like myself lately."

"_He's hiding something. I can tell. What though...?" _"Chris, what happened, exactly? I heard you call for me, and when I got there...you were unconscious and your nose was bleeding. A lot. I have to admit you had me a little worried. More so when I couldn't heal you."

"I'm not hiding anything. I just didn't get to that part yet."

Wyatt frowned. "How'd you know I thought you were hiding something?"

Chris opened his mouth to speak when he was hit with a wave of thoughts and emotions. So far, it had only been Wyatt that he had been hearing and feeling since he woke up, but the longer he remained conscious, he feared the more he would pick up on others.

"_What am I going to wear on my date with Kyle? The black number or the red one? Ah, hell it doesn't really matter. Not like I'm going to be wearing it for long..."_

The teen's eyes grew wide. "Oh, my god...that's so disgusting! I so did **not** want to hear that! I'm going to be scarred for life."

"Chris, what are you talking about? I didn't hear anything."

"Not out loud. Thoughts. I hear peoples thoughts." Chris covered his ears again, still not realizing that it wouldn't block the voices. He was so desperate to block out the voices that he didn't notice his brother move over next to him on the bed. Didn't feel his sibling's hand on his shoulder. Didn't hear him ask aloud if Chris had recieved a new power.

"_Hmm...should I get the orange juice or the apple? Wyatt likes apple, Chris likes orange, and Mel doesn't drink juice she likes water or milk. I'll just get both. Oh, my god is that Bianca? Thank goodness Chris isn't here. If I never ever see that little dominatrix again I'll die happy. Chris never needs to find out about her. She was so wrong for him. Evil always is wrong. I can't believe he was engaged to her in the first place. Well, not this time around..."_

The teenager shook his head trying to figure out what the hell his aunt was talking about. Then he remembered the other him. That was who she was referring to. Wait a minute, did she just say that she saw his fiancee? His family knew who he was destined to marry, and they hadn't told him? What did Pheobe mean by evil? Why didn't they want him to know? Because she was evil? Why would he love someone evil? He had such a headache.

"Chris, come on, tell me what the hell is going on. You're scaring me." _"He doesn't look too good. He looks scared and in pain. New powers shouldn't hurt like that. Unless he wasn't meant to have them. What's going on?"_

"I-ow! Damn it! Stop it, Wyatt! Just stop thinking!" He covered his temples with his palms and pushed trying to force the thoughts out. He didn't want more than his own thoughts bumping around up there, but he had been right. The longer he stayed conscious the worse it got.

"_I hope the boys are okay. I wish I could stay home today. I wish Piper were here. She'd know what to do. She always knew what to do. Chris always did have a special connection with his mom. He hated me in his other life. At least he doesn't hate me in this one. Wyatt...what am I going to do about that boy. He's too serious for his age. He loves his little brother more than anything though. They'll be okay. They have to be. What did Odin just say? Why is everyone staring at me? This is what I get for not paying attention to the meeting..."_

"_Boys are dumb. Stupid Derek Blake. Doesn't he realize that I am so much better than mean old Susie Gregory? Prettier too. Ugh. Boys are all dumb. Except for Chris. He's kinda cool in an annoying older cousin kind of way. Poor Chris. He's been through a lot. Maybe I will make him some cookies after school today. Just like Aunt Piper showed me to."_

Wyatt was holding his sibling's shoulders shaking him lightly. "Chris, snap out of it. Come on!" _"What's wrong with him? Why is this happening? Hasn't he been through enough!"_

Chris' breathing sped up as the voices began to blur together, and he could no longer pick out those of his family members. The sound in his mind was unreal. Like a swarm of insects buzzing around in his mind, all fighting for his attention to the point where it felt like his brain was ripping in two. He could feel tears slip down his face as he felt the emotions of one girl that were particularily strong.

"_I can't be a mother yet! I'm only fifteen. What am I going to do? I'm so scared. What are my parents going to say? What should I do? I can't have a baby. I want to go to college. An abortion? I can't do that, just can't. Please, God, help me. I'm so scared. I feel so alone..."_

The voice blurred together with rest, almost indistinguishable. Only the loudest, strongest voices were coming out now. The rest just created background buzzing in his mind. Buzzing that made if feel like his brain was throbbing within his skull, readying to start popping like kernals of corn.The younger witch cried out in pain as the intensity and frequency of the thoughts and emotions grew. He was certain that his head would just explode. He was two seconds away from wishing it would, just so that the pain would stop. He couldn't handle this. He couldn't.

"_Oh, god. Cancer? What about my kids? They have Harry, but who will Harry have? My poor husband. I don't want to leave any of them. Why did this have to happen?"_

"_Jessica loves me! She loves _me!_ I can't believe it. I'm the luckiest man in all of San Fransico!"_

"_I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts. There they are all standing in a row. Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head! I'm never gonna get that stupid song out of my head."_

"Wyatt, please, help me. Take them back. Your powers. I stole them from the demon. I wanted to give them to you, but it didn't work that way, and I ended up with them. Please, Wy, the voices...the feelings, I can't take it anymore!"

Wyatt shook his head not entirely sure of what to think. Was it even possible for Chris to have his powers? He was Twice Blessed. Can one transfer that kind of power? If so, then Chris had stolen those powers from a demon who could have used them for some major damage. His kid brother could have been killed. Now, Chris had powers he didn't know how to control. The younger witch wanted him to take those powers back, but he couldn't. He wouldn't. They were just as much a burden to him. Besides, Chris had always whined about not having many powers. All the kid needed was to learn a little control. Yeah, that's it...

"I am not meant to have your powers, Wy! I can't do this! Control has nothing to do with it! Now, take them back!"

"_I miss my brother. Why did he have to die! Why? He didn't deserve to die! Sam was a good brother...always looked out for me. I miss him so much. It hurts. I'm alone now. So alone...No one would miss me. No one will even notice that I'm dead. Just one shot in the head. Just one..."_

Chris squeezed his eyes shut, tears seeping out from his lashes as the pain he himself had been feeling for the past month came flying back at him coupled with this stranger's depression. He felt the anxiety again. Felt the strong urge to vomit arise in his throat. He gagged and coughed. When he coughed, he felt like his brains would burst from his ears. It hurt so badly; he hurt so much, and now it wasn't just his head.

The older of the two frowned. "Chris, I can't take them back. I don't want them. You used to always say you wished you were me. Well, now you are."

Chris cried out as another surge of power ran through him. The lamp next to his bed exploded sending the lightbulb and the metal base flying into tiny little shards while the shade was completely torn to ribbons. "Wyatt, please! It hurts!"

Wyatt stared on in horror as blood began to seep out of his sibling's nose again. He shook his head, afraid for his sibling. He looked up to the heavens. "Please, don't make me take them back. Just get rid of them."

"Wyatt, help me...please." Chris' eyes were completely filled with tears from the excruciating pain filling his senses.

The older witch shook his head. "Just concentrate. Stop panicking. Magic is connected to our emotions, remember? Now, breathe and feel calm. In and out, that's it."

Chris' breathing quickened as another entourage of thoughts and feelings flooded him. The magic energies inside his body felt like they were making his blood boil...like his organs were melting and that soon he would just spontaneously combust. More blood poured from his nose and his eyes rolled back into his head. As he felt unconsciousness about to claim him, he felt Wyatt shake him. "Wyatt...it hurts...it hurts so much..."

"Chris, concentrate!"

The younger boy trembled as he fought to gain a little control. It was as futile as trying to vanquish a demon with love. He couldn't control what he was not meant to. The power was too great. He couldn't handle it...eventually he could die. Chris felt that truth deep inside. His breath caught in his throat as his light green eyes shone from the tears of pain. He had rarely cried. Only once since he was a child...when his mom had died last month. His tears should have told his brother exactly how much he was suffering, but Chris could see Wyatt's denial in his brother's blue eyes. "Please...Wyatt...I need you...I need you to take them back."

"No. Don't ask me to do this for you, Chris. I can't. I can't go back to that. It isn't any easier for me. I've lived with that pain and that frustration all my life. I can't-I will not go back to that." Without looking at the pain written on his younger brother's face, Wyatt orbed out.

Chris watched in shock and horror as his brother left him to suffer alone. He couldn't believe Wyatt would do this to him. He had saved the guy's life, and now, his sibling was leaving him for dead. He was sure he would die. His Aunt Prue had become an empath and after one day, she had almost died. He was being hit with not only empathy but telepathy too! His head began to swim as his own thoughts crashed against a barrage strangers'. He could literally not hear himself think. Then, darkness claimed him again, but not before his brother's powers played a rather nasty trick by setting the bedroom curtains on fire.

000

Wyatt sat a top the golden gate bridge with his head in his hands. He didn't know what to do. He hated his life. Hated the responsibilities of his powers, of being the future protector of good magic. Days came when he didn't have any more control over his powers than his little brother did. It hurt...he knew it did. He felt badly that Chris had to experience that. It just wasn't fair. He hadn't asked for those powers. Hadn't wanted to have to fight day in and day out to keep a reign on them just so that he didn't hurt himself or others. Just so that he didn't lose his mind with the power.

His mom used to have a calming affect on him. She would always be able to make his worst days better...now, she was gone. She was gone, and there was no one in the world who understood his desire for just a little normalcy. For a little peace in a turbulent world. For no magic. Even with all his troubles with his powers, all the bitterness he had at having so much responsibility thrust on him was all made better just by his mother's smile. God, he missed her so much. His powers hadn't helped her. They had betrayed him when he needed them most. He should have sensed the danger. Should have been able to heal her...he was all powerful, why couldn't he heal the dead? He had every other freaking power imaginable; why not that one?

Chris had always been better at magic. The kid thrived in the magical community. Loved everything about magic. It was who he was. Wyatt had often thought that fate had made a mistake in making him the Twice Blessed and not Chris. Now, his sibling had the Twice Blessed powers...he could handle it.

Wyatt knew that wasn't true. Chris was in pain. His whitelighter senses were still active and he could sense his sibling's pain. He couldn't let him suffer. It wasn't fair to his brother. He had only been attempting to save the day. Chris hadn't meant to steal his powers. He couldn't handle what he wasn't meant to handle. The sisters had told them about their Aunt Prue...she had almost died. If Chris kept all that power...he would eventually die. Wyatt closed his eyes. He knew what he had to do. He knew...and he hated it. Remembering the spell from a paper he had to write for school, Wyatt recited it reluctantly. "Powers of the witches rise, course unseen across the skies. Return to me who calls you near. Return to me and settle here." Immediately his senses were filled with power. They were back. Oh, joy.

tbc...


	12. A Heart to Heart

Sorry for the huge break between updates! I didn't have much access to a computer over Christmas break. Hope everyone had a great Holiday season!

BIG THANKS to Sparkling Cherries, ilovedrew88, The Wyatt Halliwell, and icantthinkafnick for their reviews! You guys are the best!

CHAPTER 12

Wyatt Halliwell orbed into the manor feeling less than chipper. In fact, he felt about as crappy as he had ever felt in his life. He had been given a feeling of utopia only to have it ripped away with the blink of an eye. His powers had been thrust upon him once again. The thought of stripping them crossed his mind, but the idea had never seemed to feel right to him. He knew that he was supposed to be the future protector of good magic, and to throw away his heritage would be to dishonor his mother's memory. She had struggled with her gifts and her desire for a normal life, but had always done what was best for the innocents. Piper Halliwell had chosen to fight the good fight to the end. Wyatt felt he had to as well. Even though at the moment he wanted nothing more than to scream into a pillow for a good ten minutes.

Taking a seat on the sofa he sighed and put his head in his hands. That's when he was able to sense something very wrong going on not too far away. Someone was in trouble. Big trouble. Who was it? He raised his head and closed his eyes focusing. Chris. Without another second passing by, the older brother orbed up to their room where he had sensed his sibling. When he rematerialized in a swirl of blue and white lights, his eyes came upon a sight that terrified him. Chris was laying unconscious amongst a circle of flames, which was beginning to lick at his brother's still form.

Without thinking, Wyatt raised his hand orbing his little brother to safety. Then, he focused his attention on the fire. This was his mother's house. His family had lived here for generations. He was not about to let it go up in flames. Thinking quickly on his feet, the Twice Blessed came up with a spell to quell the fire. "Guardians of the elements four, within these walls let it pour. Rain from heaven save this room, save it from its certain doom."

Wyatt had never been good with spells, but today was his lucky day. Small clouds suddenly formed at the ceiling drizzling down rain over the flames. Within moments the fire was out and the room was filled with smoke. The clouds dissapeared, and with them the rain too stopped. Wyatt sighed as the smoke began to clear and the damage to his and his brother's room could be seen. It was trashed. The curtains were completely gone, the carpet was burned to a crisp, Chris' bed resembled charcoal, his own bed had one very crispy brown edge, and the walls were discoloured from the smoke. His father was going to be thrilled. Especially considering that this meant spending more money that their family didn't have. Unless...heh. He'd have Aunt Paige use that spell she always used to clean up messes. He'd do it, but he'd never hear the end of his father's lecture on personal gain. Besides, he needed to make sure Chris was okay.

Orbing out of the bedroom and into the living room, Wyatt saw Chris was still unconscious and his chest tightened. He moved over to his brother's side and raised his hands over his little brother's chest. The warm golden glow appeared faster than Wyatt was used to, causing him to wonder if perhaps he was getting better at healing or if it was just because it was Chris that needed the healing. In any case, the familiar jade eyes sprung open, slightly confused at first, then narrowed. The younger witch sat up then slugged his sibling in the jaw.

Wyatt fell backwards over the coffee table landing hard on his shoulder. When he sat up he noticed Chris shaking his head at him. He knew why his brother was mad. He knew he deserved his brother's rage. "I'm so sorry, Chris."

"I begged you to help me..." Chris let out a disgusted breath of air, "but you just left me there. I thought I was going to die. I _told _you I was scared, that I couldn't handle those powers, and don't tell me you never heard the story about Aunt Prue, cause you did. You left me there, knowing that I could die! How could you do that, Wyatt? How could you just ditch me when I needed you?"

Wyatt raised his blue eyes, their color was dim. "How could I? Maybe because I'm not perfect. Maybe because I'm only sixteen and I make mistakes. Maybe because I'm scared too. _All the time._"

"Wyatt?" Chris frowned. He had never seen his brother like this before. His big brother was the confident one. The one with all the answers. Wyatt...scared? It didn't make any sense. His brother hadn't been afraid of anything before. What did the all powerful Twice Blessed have to fear anyway?

"I'm only sixteen. Does anybody ever remember that? The elders are always upset because I don't have complete control over my powers. Paige is always disappointed because my grades aren't perfect, Pheobe is always on my case because I never hang out with my friends or go on dates, Dad used to rag on me to get a job to help out the family, and you...you always look at me like I'm some sort of hero, like I'm perfect, your damn idol or something. I'm just so sick of everybody wanting me to be or do something for them. I just want to be me. For just a day, I'd like to be Wyatt Halliwell, sixteen year old kid. The only person who ever got me was Mom, now she's gone." His head dipped down, his dirty blonde curls falling over his face.

All the dark haired teenager could manage for a moment was to blink. He had no idea that was how his brother felt. Had no idea the kind of pressure he felt. Chris had always just thought of Wyatt as the golden boy, the one who never messed up. Now he knew that Wyatt felt trapped. That his life was just a bunch of plates spinning on poles, and at the moment, those plates were crashing down one by one. Chris licked his lips as he thought of what on earth he could say. "Wy, it doesn't have to be that way. Nobody is perfect. We all know that. We're your family; I know I just want you to be happy, and I'm sure that's what everybody else wants too."

Wyatt looked up at his brother, surprised by the slight weight that was removed from his shoulders just by those few words. Chris, it seemed, had taken after their mother to some degree as well and not just in looks.

"I'm sorry you feel pressure because of me. If it makes you feel better, I _know_ you aren't perfect. You snore all the damn time, keep me up half the night. Your spells suck, and your potions are laughable. Oh, and your side of the room? Most of the time, it looks like a hurricane came through it. Perfect? You aren't even close. Me on the other hand..."

A pillow from the couch hit Chris in the head. The younger brother grinned. "What?" He chuckled as Wyatt let a small smile form on his lips. "Anyway, my point is I think you put most of the pressure on yourself by convincing yourself you need to be perfect. I get that you have certain responsibilities as the Twice Blessed, King Aurther and anything else that may come up, but, Wyatt, why do you care so much what everyone else thinks? Do you see me freaking out everytime Dad or the sisters gets disappointed in me? Hell no. I figure it means I'm doing my job as a teenager."

Wyatt shook his head laughing quietly. "So, I guess I blow things out of proportion?"

"Some things, yeah. As a Halliwell, we both come by that trait honestly."

"Chris...thanks."

Chris smiled, his light green eyes lighting up. "Anytime. Just don't ever leave me for dead again, okay?"

"Deal."

"Hey, Wyatt?"

"Hmm?"

"I think I believe you now." He glanced over at the mantle, his eyes settling on a picture of their mother. "We are going to be okay."

tbc... One more chappie left. Weird.


	13. Moving On

Sorry for the long delay. The demon known as real life kidnapped me to the underworld, and I couldn't escape.

CHAPTER 13

"Well, I think we have come quite a long way, Christopher."

Ms. Harrison smiled at her patient, then rose from her desk. Walking over to the teenager, she put a hand on his shoulder. "I really am quite proud of the improvement I've been seeing in our sessions. You are a good young man, and I'm so glad that I could help you in some way."

Chris Halliwell shrugged a little embarrassed. He had been going to see Ms. Harrison for six months now, but he still wasn't thrilled with having to see a psychiatrist. She was really a very wonderful woman, but he just didn't like telling his inner most thoughts to anyone. Well, he he supposed he didn't mind telling Wyatt, but that was different. They were brothers. Besides, whenever he and his brother had those late night talks, Wyatt would share just as much as he did, so it wasn't awkward like it was when he had to see Ms. Harrison. He didn't even think he really needed to be here anymore. He felt a lot better, and the anxiety attacks he used to get about his mom didn't come anymore. The young man still felt a sharp pain and grief, but he just missed his mom. He was allowed to feel that way. It didn't make him nuts. It made him human.

"Well, Christopher, I think I'm going to tell your father that from now on, we'll only have appointments when you feel the need to talk to me. It is remarkable how fast you have dealt with the situation, but I know you have dealt. Talking to your brother probably helped, right?"

The young witch gave a shy grin. "Yeah. He understands, that's all."

The psychiatrist smiled again and moved toward the door. She waited there as Chris hurried to stand up from his chair and grab his backpack. When he reached her side at the door, she extended her hand to him. "I'm glad to have gotten to know you, Chris. You really and truly are an amazing young man. I wish you all the best."

Clumsily, Chris shook his shrink's hand and tried to hide the fact that he was blushing. She may have been a good fifteen years older than him, but she was still drop dead gorgeous. It made the sessions both uncomfortable, and worth attending at the same time. He once told Wyatt that getting her undivided attention for an hour once a week made the embarrassment of having to share his feelings seem less important.

Once he had left the office, Chris escaped to the nearest restroom, checked under all the stalls to make sure no one was there, and then picked one to enter. Once he had the door closed, he pictured the livingroom of the manor, and felt himself feeling lifted upward as his vision went white for just a second as he orbed and rematerialized in the livingroom. He saw his father waiting for him on the couch and rolled his eyes throwing down his bag. "Hey, Dad."

"How was your day, Chris?"

"Fine."

"Fine?" Leo frowned. "I don't get any more than that?"

"You asked how my day was. It was fine. Nothing else to say."

Chris moved toward the kitchen, planning on making himself a snack before he hit the books. He was a little surprised when his father followed him. He wondered what was up. Usually Leo would ask him a couple of times how his day went, and when the teen would still only reply with an 'okay' or 'fine' the Elder would give up, sighing and walking away. Not today, though. It seemed Leo was in one of those moods.

"Chris," Leo started slowly, "I just got a call from the school-"

The fourteen year old stopped dead in his tracks. "-Whatever it was I didn't do it." He cut in to his father's sentence, hoping to derail any arguement about whatever it was that the demons at the school had claimed he had done wrong this time. Okay, so they weren't technically demons, but the teachers and administration were pains in his neck, and he hated them just as much as they hated him.

Leo sighed and folded his arms. "Chris, why didn't you tell me about the test score?"

"Huh?" Chris paused at the fridge and turned to face his father. He suddenly remembered having to take some preparation test for the SAT a number of months earlier at school, as Leo had forced him to take it, and wondered if maybe his father had gotten to the mail box before him and seen how horrible he had done.

"Why is it that you come home with Bs and Cs, but you managed to get one of the highest scores in the nation on the test?"

Chris blinked, shocked. He had thought that he had sloughed off enough answers to make the score low, but apparently he hadn't. With everything that had been going on in the past seven months, he had been letting his true intelligence show occasionally, which was _not_ good. If his dad figured out that he had been slacking on purpose, all hell was going to break loose... "Uh, I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Don't you dare lie to me, Christopher. Tell me the truth. Have you been holding back in school?"

The young witch looked away. "Why would I do that? It would be pointless..."

It was at that moment the front door swung open and Pheobe's voice floated into the room. "Hey, everyone, I'm home!" She practically bounced into the kitchen, and when she saw her nephew her smile grew even wider. "Leo called me and told me about your test. It's so wonderful! A little genius in the family!" She moved to pinch his cheek like when he was younger, but he ducked away from her grasp.

"I'm not a genius. It was just a fluke."

Pheobe frowned. "Chris, don't lie. Empath, remember?"

Her nephew swore mentally.

"Phoebe, I am so glad you are here, maybe you could find out why my son has been pretending to be less than he is."

Pheobe smiled at her brother-in-law's frustration and nodded. She had a feeling she knew what her nephew was up to, and was more than prepared to get back-up if she needed to. She patted Leo on the shoulder and told him to go about his business, she had this one covered. The Elder sighed, told Chris to be honest with his aunt, then orbed 'up there' to attend to some business.

The empath turned to the young teenager. "I can sense you are afraid of something, Chris. Wanna tell me what that is? Or should I just get Wyatt to tell me? We both know how horrible he is with secrets. Got that from me, I think."

"I'm not going to a stupid preparatory school, and I'm not going to college." Chris replied softly, trying very hard to continue on as though this conversation weren't important. He even opened the fridge and pulled out mustard, turkey slices, lettuce and tomato to make a sandwich as he attempted to pretend everything were fine.

"You just turned fifteen not long ago, and you already decided that you aren't going to college? And who said anything about a preparatory school?"

"I've seen it happen to other kids. If they even get a little above average they end up getting shipped off to another school. I don't want to leave my school, or my friends." He then sighed. "Besides, what would be the point? I can't go to college now, anyway."

"If you really don't want to go that prep. school, we won't make you, but why would you throw away your gift by not going to a good college?"

Chris shook his head and made a small 'hmph.' He preceeded to make his sandwich while he spoke, but it didn't skip his aunt's attention that his hand was shaking as he spread the mustard over the bread. "I have too many other _gifts_ to go to college."

"You can't let that stop you, Honey. I'm a witch and I went to college. It wasn't easy, but it can be done."

The young man paused a moment before answering. "You had the power of three back then. Mom...she isn't around anymore, so me and Wyatt have more responsiblity. I don't want to drop it all off on him. Besides, he wants to go to college, and that's a lot of money..." He sighed then looked over to his aunt. "I just can't go."

"You are definitely Piper's son." Pheobe replied shaking her head sadly. "She played martyr a lot in her lifetime too. I'm not going to let you throw this away though. Neither is Paige or Leo or Wyatt." She moved to stand closer to him. "Chris, you have been given a true gift, and should use it. As far as your wiccan duties, you can help as much as you can, but me and Paige are still powerful witches even without the power of three. We will still be out fighting the demons just like always. You don't need to worry about that yet. You're still just a kid."

Chris nodded then sighed. "Dad has zero money, and P3 is falling to hell without mom. How about that? You shouldn't have to send me and Wyatt to college. You can't afford to, even with your book sales."

"With your smarts, you can get a free ride, and I have enough to help Wyatt. All you have to do is embrace who you are, and use those brains of yours to the best of your ability. Now, what do you say?"

"Swear you'll make sure Dad doesn't send me to one of those lame prep. schools?"

"My word."

The young man grinned. "Then, I guess I can manage that."

His aunt wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. She was pleased that he let her. The male witch was in that stage where he didn't like displays of affection from his family. It was a rare treat when she could get him to let her hug him like this. The thought of having to wait a long time before getting another hug made her sad, but he was a teenager now. She just had to deal. And hope Melinda didn't act like that when she reached her teens.

"Ah, it's a Kodak moment."

Chris immediately jumped back and folded his arms over his chest as he heard his brother's voice. "Hey, Wy. What's up? I thought you had to work."

Wyatt smiled at his aunt, knowing how easily embarrassed his kid brother was. "Nah, I got Charlie to take my shift." He grinned. "Now come on, I've got something I want to show you up in the attic."

"Should I be worried?"

Pheobe shrugged. "I have no idea."

The older boy grabbed his sibling's hand and just began to orb. When the two teenagers reached the attic and rematerialized, Chris was shocked to see a large poster board setting on a stand. It was a drawing of P3, only it was different, updated to the next generation's style. Wyatt moved next to it. "So, what do you think? I had Annie help me draw my ideas out. I really think that if we updated the club, we could get things swinging in the right direction. Then, we wouldn't have to mooch off of Aunt Pheebs, and we'd keep mom's legacy alive."

"Wyatt, this is amazing. The colors are wicked, and the set up is just...wow." Chris moved forward to take a better look at the details. "Hey, I bet if I tried, I could figure out how much all this would cost and then do some work on projected profit. I'd need some help from my math teacher, but I bet I could do it. Then, we'd be sure to be able to have a solid pitch to Dad and the Aunts."

"Chris, this is going to be awesome. I mean, as soon as I turn eighteen, P3 becomes mine, and then I can start splitting the profits with you. Since you are a freaking math whiz, you could be a number cruncher. Maybe you should go to college for accounting and do that?"

Chris rolled his eyes. "Dad talked to ya, didn't he?"

"Yup. So, are you going to try your best in school now?"

"Yeah. Pheobe and I had a talk."

"Ouch."

"Yeah."

"Heh, she hugged you. You _let_ her hug you. You're such a girl."

Chris punched him in the arm. "Shut up. You hug the Aunts more than I do."

"I know. I'm just giving you shit."

Suddenly the pages on the book began to turn. Both boys turned, slightly suprised, and just a littled worried. Last time the books turned on their own, it was because a rather powerful demon was on the way, and the relatives wanted to warn them by turning to the vanquishing page. However, it could have been their Aunt Prue, she had been able to be summoned ever since Chris turned six, and she sure enjoyed abusing the privelege. She had every right to want to. She missed out on a lot. Her nephews and niece being born for example.

Chris moved forward toward the Book of Shadows, hoping that it was turned to the summoning spell. He hadn't seen his Aunt Prue since the day of his mother's funeral, and the talk they had wasn't one he remembered too well. He missed her. To his happy surprise, the book was indeed turned to the summoning spell. "Hey, Wy, I think Aunt Prue wants to talk to us."

"As the aunts always say: cool."

"Grab the candles."

Wyatt waved his hand and the candles formed a circle. He then waved his hand again sending each of the wicks a flame. He saluted his brother in signal of everything being ready to go.

"Hear these words, hear my cry, Spirit on the other side. Come to me who summons thee, cross now the great divide."

Within the circle of candles a swirl of bright white lights blocked the boys from seeing who it was that had demanded to be summoned. A moment of anticipation passed before a woman with long, silky brown hair and appeared wearing a flowing white dress. When she turned around to view the two teenagers both of the boys' mouths dropped open as they saw their mother standing before them. Piper Halliwell's chocolate brown eyes were filled with tears as she gazed upon her children. Without hesitation she moved swiftly from the circle, becoming corporeal, and ran to hug them both.

Both boys clung to her tightly, any ideas of being embarrassed having completely vanished from their minds. Even if they had thought about it, the idea wouldn't have mattered in the least. This was their mother, and they had missed her so much. More than anything in the world, they wanted to be held by her loving embrace. No one wanted to let go, but Piper finally, reluctantly pulled away. She wanted to see her sons' faces. She looked first to Wyatt. He had grown even taller since the time she had seen him last. He was broader too. Turning into a man so fast! His blue eyes were brimmed with tears that he fought to stop from falling. She touched his face lightly with her hand. "Oh, Wyatt, honey. I've missed you so much. I'm so proud of you. I've been watching as much as I could. I saw you win the state speech. Congratulations." She kissed him on the cheek and he let his tears fall as he whispered shakily that he loved her and missed her. She nodded sadly. "I know, honey. I miss you too, and you know that I love you so much."

"I know."

Piper then turned to her youngest, whose green eyes were wide in shock. Her poor baby had been through so much! She hugged him again, stroking his hair lightly. "Oh, Peanut. I'm so sorry. I'm _so_ sorry. You shouldn't have had to go through that. I know you are mad at me for leaving, for not fighting, but I knew that it was my time. I wish I could have fought and won. I really do. I had no idea it was going to happen like that. I'm so sorry. I love you more than you could possibly imagine, you know that, right? I'm so sorry."

Chris pulled away slowly and gazed up into her angelic face. "Mom?"

"Yeah, Sweetie?"

"I love you too."

Piper began to cry as she hugged her baby again. "I wish I could stay forever."

"How long can you stay?" Wyatt asked hesitantly.

Their mother lowered her eyes. "Not long."

Wyatt nodded. Chris sighed, wiping away signs of his tears.

She looked up placing one hand on each of her son's faces. "Look at you two. Such wonderful young men. I'm so proud of you two. Everything you've done for each other. Wyatt, you are a good older brother. Keep being a good older brother. Watch out for him for me. He's stubborn and never admits he needs help. And, Chris, Wyatt needs you too. He needs your support. You balance him out." She sniffled as she continued to cry. "You two have become so close, and it makes me so happy to see you happy, acting like real brothers instead of two strangers living in the same house. Promise me you'll always stay this way."

Wyatt and Chris shared a look, smiling at one another. "We promise."

"I love you both so much."

A jingle was heard.

Piper glared at the ceiling. "They're calling me back. I wish I could stay longer. I just wanted to tell you both how much I love you, and how proud I am of you both. Remember that your love for each other can get you through anything. Stick by one another."

"I love you Mom."

"I love you too, Mom."

With a look of love in her eyes, Piper Halliwell, went up in a swirl of lights, leaving her boys alone once more.

Wyatt turned to his brother. "Hey, you all right?"

"Yeah." Chris smiled. "I really am."

The older brother returned his sibling's smile and wrapped his arm around the younger boy's shoulder as both boys looked up to the heavens, thinking of their mother without grief in their hearts for the first time in seven months. Her words lingered in their minds as they stood there. They were real brothers and their love for one another would get them through anything.

TBC...

Okay, so it's a corny ending, but it made me happy. ;)


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